Clever
by LegendDairy
Summary: What if Ginevra Weasley was just a little more clever, a little more spunky, a little less of that Weasley temper? The only people that know what this industrious witch had accomplished are quite the unlikely allies, and her life plan being turned on it's head is all their fault too. First story attempt. It sucks, but I'm not deleting. It was too much work. GW/HP and GW/DM.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That belongs to the lovely J.K. Rowling. She's amazing.

*************************************************************************  
The summer had been very interesting. The first half full of stories of adventure and heroism. Like one of her fairy stories come to life. Harry Potter was real! She had actually met him and he was best friends with one of her brothers! That was so cool. And now every new day was just another 'X' on her calendar marking down until she could go to Hogwarts.

Finally take that great step onto the scarlet Hogwarts express. She was absolutely shivering in anticipation. Even when her brothers teased her about how she wasn't actually a witch and she was going to have to go to the muggle school in Ottery St. Catchpoles, she still knew the truth. Her accidental magic was constantly showing itself. Particularly when she was annoyed. Ginny Weasley was clearly given the correct hair colour. While she was fun loving and mischievous, not unlike her twin brothers, she had the capacity for one hell of a temper tantrum in her younger days. As she grew older and more and more of her brothers left for those sacred halls she mostly passed her time reading left behind spell books and her mothers romance novels. Romance novels may have been an odd choice for a ten-year-old, but Ginny was beyond bored being the only kid home. She loved flying as well, but with no one to play with it wasn't as fun.

So, she had resigned herself to her own betterment, trying to learn as much as she could to prepare herself for what lay ahead. She practiced wrist movements, concentrating really hard on what she was doing, deluding herself that she would be able to do wandless magic and huffing when nothing happened.

Going to Romania for Christmas had been very exciting, she knew Ron would be so jealous, but honestly? She would have switched places with him in a heart-beat.

The day her brothers came home from school she had Ron tell the story of the Philosophers Stone again and again. While it was amazing and adventurous, deadly and compelling she couldn't help but see the main flaw in the story. The ending. The summation of the story was that if they'd done nothing then the Philosophers Stone wouldn't have gotten out of the mirror. If they hadn't have showed up then Dumbledore would have caught Professor Quirrell and killed that piece of 'You-Know-Who'. She kept that bit to herself though.

The second part of her summer was just beginning, and it was letter day. Ginny lay in bed smiling while she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and listened to her mother yell at her brothers three floors below. 'Just another day for them' she said to herself as she got up. They weren't due to get their letters with a list of school supplies for a few days, but her acceptance letter should be coming today!

She got up and looked around her room for her clothes. She'd set out exactly what she wanted to be wearing for today. The first day of the rest of her life. But she couldn't find her jumper.

"'Gah!' she exclaimed in a huff, nothing was ever where she left it! Her room was impeccably clean because A. she'd barely owned anything to begin with, and B. whatever she did have she'd already packed into her trunk for Hogwarts. She couldn't help herself.

Ginny gave up the search of her room and went downstairs. "Mum" she said swinging around the corner of the stairs and into the kitchen "Have you seen my jumper?"

She glanced at four of her brothers eating breakfast and stood in shock when she noticed the fifth person at the table. Her mothers' response didn't ever register in her head. All she could hear was the blood rushing through her head. 'Harry Potter is in my kitchen' he looked tired and exhilarated with a piece of bacon half way to his mouth.

He smiled at her in greeting "Hello" he said.

However, words could not form in her mouth. If she tried to say anything right now it would have come out as gobble de guk. Her flight response kicked in and after what felt like forever of staring into his green eyes. She turned around and bolted back to her room only just registering the snickers now going on in the kitchen.  
Once back in her room she shut her door and buried her head under her pillow.

Why today of all days? She'd been hearing stories about him all her life, as long as she could remember. She was star struck! She'd been waiting to meet him and see for herself that he existed, but she didn't want it to be today! Tears leaked out of her eyes and she couldn't quite make out what she was more upset about, making a fool of herself in front of him or the day just not being exactly what she wanted.

An hour later she heard her mom sneak into her room. She didn't have any more tears, but she was still miserable. "I have something for you" Molly Weasley smiled as she sat on Ginny's bed. Ginny's chin quivered as she sat up and crossed her legs looking at the letter in her mothers' hand with the Hogwarts seal. 'Ginevra M. Weasley' was visible in emerald green ink.

Silently she took it from her mother and opened it. "We are pleased to inform you" Ginny began and looked at her mom who put on a proud face.

"Oh I am so happy for you!" She exclaimed and hugged her.

Ginny hugged her back "It isn't like they would send me a rejection letter" she giggled.

Molly shook her head "I still can't believe my youngest is off to Hogwarts in just one month!"

"Yes mum" Ginny rolled her eyes. "But it just seems so anti-climactic now with Harry Potter here."

Molly clucked her tongue "Yes, that was a surprise" She leaned back from the hug, "As is you using the term 'anti-climactic.'"

Ginny blushed slightly. Her vocabulary was a little advanced for a ten-year-old (for two more days), she knew, but she'd read every novel in the house and looked up all the words she didn't understand in Percy's dictionary.

Her mother nudged her chin "You are going to love it at Hogwarts dear. If getting in hasn't brightened you up enough just think of how I've got the boys de-gnoming the garden for you and soon you will be going to Diagon Alley for your first wand."

At that Ginny smiled and nodded.

As hard as she tried at dinner not to embarrass herself in front of Harry Potter she still managed to put her elbow in the butter dish before just giving up and bowing her head in shame.

All day had been spent outside after Fred, George, Ron and Harry had finished with their punishment and gone in for a nap. She grabbed a broom on her way out the door and went for a fly to escape the house. She didn't notice that it wasn't the regular Cleansweep until she kicked off and was in the air.

The ride was so smooth she started. Looking more carefully she saw it was a Nimbus 2000 and realized it was actually Harry Potters broom. A wicked smile appeared on her face before she leaned forward and did a few barrel roles. She spent hours marveling in the spectacular differences a decent broom made.

Bringing that to mind after helping her mother clear up after dinner and then went off to bed, she fell into a contented deep sleep.

Harry looked at all of them in the upmost confusion. "He'd never used Floo before mum!" Ron exclaimed.

"How did you get to Diagon Alley last year?" Arthur Weasley asked.

"The Underground" Harry replied. Ginny immediately pictured him digging under Diagon Alley and shook her head of the image before she laughed.

"Really! Did they have escapators?"

"Ginny knew her dad loved everything Muggle, she herself was quite impressed with how they got things done with out magic, but now was not the time. She was getting a wand today! Even Ron had been stuck with a hand me down wand, she couldn't believe her luck that there wasn't one to pass on to her. Her school robes would be second hand, but she was fine with that.

"Diagonally" She heard pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Shit" she said out loud. Normally she would have gotten told off for her language, but they were all looking at each other thinking the same thing. 'He did it wrong'. Her dad went right after him and Ginny after that. She stepped forward into the flames "Diagon Alley" she said clearly and felt the suctioning feeling.

She landed gracefully beside her dad. "Any sign of him?" she asked.

"None" he replied with a worried look. She stepped behind him and looked down Diagon Alley. The street was bustling, and she was way to short to see him in this mess of people even if he was there.

She heard the rest of her family come out the grate, with each member the question and answers were the same. "Fred. George. Take Ginny and wait on the steps of Gringotts for us" her mother instructed the twins. They all parted ways to search for Harry Potter.

Waiting on the steps of Gringotts Fred and George were telling her about horrible Floo incidents of the past. She half paid attention while making the appropriate remarks as she scanned the crowd. "And one guy even splinched himself! Imagine, one foot here, and arm there!" Fred went on.

"Ew!" Ginny made a face and noticed a well-dressed blond man with pursed lips observing them while he made his way to the bank. It seemed as though he knew them, and hated them. Ginny stared at him in confusion and then noticed a cute boy with him.

"Found him!" George said. Ginny turned back to him and followed his eye line to where an enormous man was making his way through the crowd. Harry looked so small scrambling on beside him.

Half an hour later Ginny found herself sandwiched between her mother and another overly excited housewife while Gilderoy Lockhart smiled widely and held Harry's hand in a death grip. Ginny was smiling and shaking her head. Lockhart's books always seemed a little far fetched and over embellished (another look up in Percy's dictionary) for her to be non-fiction. But Harry's pained expression amused her. He really didn't seem to be enjoying the spotlight. She looked up at her mothers excited face and suddenly felt the cauldron she was holding get much heavier.

"Here, you have these, I can buy my own" Harry said as he had just dumped a bunch of books into it.

'Great' she thought as her surprise wore off. 'I will just summon my inner troll and heave these along.' She stumbled along trying to get through the crowd to the alley.

"I bet you loved that didn't you Potter?" she heard. That cute boy with the sneering man was attempting to intimidate Harry. He didn't look so cute with the same sneer his father had had.

She frowned and realized this must be Draco Malfoy. Ron had complained about him plenty, which made the sneering man Lucius Malfoy. Her dad had complained about him plenty. She knew they were supposedly on the wrong side of the last war. She set down her cauldron and before she knew what she was doing she was standing between Draco and Harry glaring up at Draco. "Leave him alone, he didn't want all that."

Surprise registered on Draco's face before he pursed his lips. "Oh look! Potters found himself a girlfriend."

Ginny felt a small blush creep onto her face and some of her bravery turn to embarrassment. She was saved from further comments when Lucius Malfoy came to stand beside his son and gracefully picked up some of her books from her cauldron. "Hey!" she exclaimed before her dad stepped over.

"This place is madness, lets go outside." Arthur Weasley distractedly tried to wrangle them. "Lucius Malfoy."

While their fathers exchanged words, Ginny snuck a few more looks at Draco. His expressions seemed to flicker quickly between surprise and disgust. When she looked back to the men, they were in an all-out brawl now and the shopkeeper was trying to break them apart. It was rather thrilling to watch. She and the twins had the same excited expressions as their mother ushered them out of the book store.

The rest of the time in Diagon Alley passed nicely, Ginny got her uniform and saw her friend and neighbor Luna Lovegood briefly and she got her wand! Later in her room she took inventory of her new possessions and found that her parents gave her a diary as well. It was second hand as there was a name inscribed on it, but never used so she didn't care. Ginny found it thoughtful.

The rest of her summer was spent practicing spells in her room. She knew that technically the trace didn't apply until she started her magical education, so she was free to practice until then. She knew it wasn't like her brothers would let her partake in their Quidditch games. Not that there were enough brooms anyways.

Finally, September 1st was upon them and she was standing on platform 9 3/4, which she had done every year of her life, but this time she was actually going on it! They had been running late so all she could do was give her parents a quick hug and run onto the train. The twins had thankfully taken charge of her trunk and swiftly left to find their friends. Ginny stood in the corridor of the train watching the twins walk away and seeing everyone around her greet their friends, she was a little startled that she hadn't thought about this part. Of course, she wouldn't be hanging out with her brothers at school. Ginny let out a mixture of a sigh and a strangled cry at her idiocy. She didn't know who to sit with.

"You've got Wrakspurts around you Ginny" said a dreamy voice behind her.

Ginny turned around. "Luna!" she exclaimed and basically threw herself at the blond girl hugging her tight.

"Good to see you too" Luna smiled.

"Have you found somewhere to sit yet?"

"No, I was just going to wander and see if I cold find any interesting creatures aboard."

Ginny contained a snicker. While she'd known Luna for years because they were essentially neighbors and knew her dad ran the Quibbler (an odd magazine with obscure articles) she was as odd as the magazine itself, but a truly honest person. "Well, please consider me an interesting creature and come find somewhere to sit with me."

She grabbed Luna's hand and pulled her along. They found a compartment with one shy looking boy in it. "Hello" Ginny smiled brightly as she opened the door. "May we join you?"

He smiled feebly and nodded.

Ginny and Luna got settled in. "We're going into our first year. What about you?" Ginny asked him.

Ginny heard a croak from his pocket. The boy pulled out a toad.

"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed "Your Neville Longbottom!" Ron and Harry had mentioned he had a toad. "You are in Gryffindor with my brother."

Neville's whole demeanor changed. "So, you are a Weasley"

"Yes, I'm Ginny, the youngest and bestest Weasley" She laughed. "And this is my friend Luna Lovegood." Luna just gave him a dreamy smile and looked out the window. Ginny shook her head and shrugged at Neville. "So, what is your favourite and least favourite thing about Hogwarts?" she asked eagerly.

She never did trust her brothers with the answers to these questions.

"Well, my least favourite is definitely Professor Snape, the Potions master."

"There is a consensus on that one. All my brothers say the same thing."

They laughed a bit. "My favourite" Neville looked like he was deep in thought on that one. "Belonging I guess?"

"What do you mean?" Ginny was confused.

"When I was sorted into Gryffindor it was the best day of my life!" He went on to describe being in the dorm with four other boys and how he had earned the house points at the end of the previous year that put them just over so that Gryffindor won the House Cup.

"I am pretty sure I will follow my family's footsteps and be in Gryffindor" Ginny told him "My whole family expects it."

"Don't say that" Luna pipped up. She'd been silent the whole time until now. "You should make your own decisions, not let people make them for you."

Ginny stared at her. Was she letting someone make a decision for her? She had no idea how the sorting hat decided who to put where. What was she supposed to do? Tell the hat off? The three of them sat silently for a few minutes until the compartment door opened and Draco Malfoy leered at Neville flanked by two imposing looking boys.

"Can't believe you made it into second year Longbottom. Guess the donation my family made to the school wasn't enough. They still needed your tuition." Malfoy and his henchmen laughed and Neville blushed hanging his head.

Ginny couldn't believe this boy. "Do you really have nothing better to do?" she asked him hotly.

His gaze turned to her. "How can you even afford to be here?" he sneered. "Your family must have sold off their home by now Weasley to cover the last of their litters school costs."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You aren't clever and you aren't funny either." She stood up and grabbed the door to close it. "No one wants you here so bugger off."

Draco placed his hand on the door "Who do you thing you are talking to?" He snarled.

"Honestly?" She looked him up and down "Not much."

Draco grabbed his wand and she grabbed hers. He laughed. "Seriously? Like you could do anything, you haven't even started your first year."

"Expellaramus" Ginny said with determination. Draco fell back on one of his cronies and Ginny grabbed his wand. "Never underestimate a ginger" She said to his shocked face.

Ginny threw his wand down the hall, slammed the compartment door shut and locked it while drawing the blinds. "How could you do that?" Neville was astounded. "I don't even know that spell!"

"I have six older brothers and I've been practicing spells since I got my wand. Really I'm just kind of stunned it worked." She had just settled back down in her seat when there was a rapping at the door.

Neville and Luna looked to Ginny to see what to do. "Ginny?" She heard from the other side of the door. It sounded like Percy.

"Oh!" She hopped back up to the door and opened it. "Hi Percy!" She smiled.

Percy glanced around at her companions and back to her. "Did you just have an altercation with someone?"

"I had words with the Malfoy boy if that's what you mean. He was being entirely rude"

"Did you use a disarming spell on him?"

Ginny furrowed her brow at him. She highly doubted that Malfoy would spread around that he'd been taken down by someone younger than him, and a girl. "Am I supposed to know disarming spells before going to Hogwarts?"She purposefully added a hint of panic to her voice.

Percy smiled softly and relaxed. "No, of course not." He tugged at a strand of her hair lovingly. "Enjoy the rest of your ride."

Ginny shut the door again and turned around. Neville and Luna raised their eyebrows at her. She blushed slightly smiling. "Well I didn't say I hadn't done it." The three of them chuckled.

They had all settled back into a companionable silence and Ginny pulled out her new diary and a Muggle pen. She much preferred them to quills, so much less effort.

 **Train ride to Hogwarts and my brothers had abandoned me!**

She began to write with a flourish and her usual, casual humor. And then watched her words disappear.

 _I remember my first ride to Hogwarts too. It was an incredible feeling. I am sorry if you are lonely. Do you want to talk about it?_ The Diary wrote back.

Ginny gasped. "What's up?" Neville asked her.

Ginny looked up at him. "Just amazed with how much easier using a pen is to a quill." She lied quickly.

 _What house do you think you will be sorted into?_ The diary asked.

Ginny was confused. She'd never heard of a book responding like this before. She pondered a minute before answering with a question of her own.

 **Isn't that not left up to me?** She remembered Luna's comment about making her own decisions.

 _Let us pretend it is, what would you like to be? Brave, Humble, Clever or Cunning?_

Ginny stared at the words before they disappeared. "May be time to get dressed." Luna said. Ginny snapped the diary shut and stashed it away before pulling on her uniform.

Half and hour later they were all standing on the platform, Ginny in the line-up of first years following Hagrid. She hadn't seen Harry or Ron at all. _Brave, Humble, Clever or Cunning_. She had those words going through her head over and over again until she was suddenly in the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall welcomed them all and the sorting hat sang, then one by one the first years were called to the front. _Brave, Humble, Clever or Cunning_. She knew which house belonged to which word. She looked over to where her brothers were sitting.

Fred and George were brave, but they were cunning too.

Percy was brave, but he was clever too.

She couldn't find Ron at the table, but he was brave. The other terms didn't seem to suit him at all.

Luna was called forward. "Ravenclaw" the hat had said. Ginny was surprised. She would have thought Hufflepuff. Maybe she really did have a say. _Brave, Humble, Clever or Cunning._ She went over the words faster and faster until she was the last first year to be sorted.

"Weasley, Ginevra" Professor McGonagall said, and Ginny went forward and sat on the stool facing the rest of the school.

Ginny looked at her brothers who were poised waiting to applaud her way into Gryffindor. Ginny closed her eyes to block them out. When she opened them again she'd decided. 'Clever' she thought loudly.

"Ravenclaw" The hat bellowed.  
***********************************************************************

 **Not exactly a cliff hanger. It is the title of the Chapter, and the story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

"A car? A flying car?" The rumors of Ron Weasley and Harry Potter flying a car to Hogwarts instead of taking the train was the only topic of conversation that morning. At first Ginny thought it was a joke, until the howler arrived. Her mothers voice reverberated off the walls.

'Yep' Ginny thought 'They're idiots'. She received her timetable and told Luna she'd be right back to head with her to Transfiguration before going over to Ron and Harry who were hanging their heads.

"The car? Really? Flooing to Hogsmeade probably would have been faster." Ginny nudged Ron jokingly.

"Ravenclaw? Really?" He looked a little offended.

Ginny shrugged. "At least it isn't Slytherin." She noticed Malfoy and his cronies drawing close. So louder she said "If I'd been sorted into Slytherin I would have just hopped off the stool and walked back out the entrance hall. Better off being a Squib."

Ron followed her eye line and chuckled. Malfoy had definitely heard her and scowled at her. "We wouldn't want a Weasley anyways. They and their attention seeking antics and hero worship. We're better off with-out them." He sneered and turned to leave.

"He's not wrong" Ginny commented. Ron and Harry looked affronted, Ginny put her hands up. "Look I know it was just the two of you acting on impulse or whatever, but it seemed more like an attention getter."

"It wasn't!" Harry said hotly. "The barrier had sealed itself!"

Ginny furrowed her brow. "But you were a second behind me and we still had a solid two minutes."

"I know" Harry said and looked angrily down at his breakfast.

"Right" Ginny said awkwardly. "Well I'll see you later then. I've got to figure out how to get to Transfiguration." She went to leave and finally noticed the bushy haired girl beside Ron. "You must be Hermione" She smiled at her and held out a hand.

"Nice to meet you Ginny" Hermione smiled back and accepted her handshake.

To say Ginny was prepared for her lessons would be putting it mildly. Ginny was over prepared for her lessons. The only thing she couldn't have practiced properly was Potions, but she even excelled there, thanks to helping her mom out in the kitchen so much. Potions was essentially cooking so that was also a breeze. A major disappointment came in the form of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lockhart was as ridiculous as his books led her to believe he was.

Her first weekend at Hogwarts she found herself alone in her dorm having just come in from writing essays in the library. There were only four girls in her dorm. Luna, Hestia Fairweather, and Norma Goodwrench along with herself. Hestia and Norma were sweet, though they were definitely unsure of what to make of Luna, which made Ginny giggle. Ginny had just decided to put away her books and explore the castle when she spotted the diary.

It had intrigued her that it was capable of responding to her. Ravenclaw had felt like a good choice so far, and now she wasn't just following in her family's foot steps. She was blazing her own trail. Beginning to think outside the box. She smiled and grabbed her pen.

 **I decided to be brave** _._

 _Gryffindor then._

She was about to reply with what she meant. She'd been brave in not going to Gryffindor, but she paused. If this diary was linked to another person, did she want to treat it as a confidant? 'Stranger Danger' flashed in her mind.

 **What house were you sorted into?** Ginny asked

 _Let me show you_

And suddenly she felt herself get pulled forward into the diary. Now she was standing in the Great Hall surrounded by a bunch of students.

'Riddle, Tom' said a voice echoing through the hall. Ginny was shocked to see a rather young-looking Dumbledore standing aside the sorting hat. A boy to the left of Ginny strode up to the stool, spun around and took his place on it. She couldn't help but be reminded of Harry Potter from his looks, but his demeanor screamed Draco Malfoy. "Slytherin" the hat called.

Ginny was abruptly sucked back out of the book and onto her bed. _Cunning_ , the diary read. She slammed the book shut and tossed it into her trunk. Slowly she got up and made her way over to the window. From her room they had an excellent view of the Quidditch pitch. She could make out the Slytherin team was having their practice.

There is no way a simple book could have done that. Visions were for Pensive's and Seers. She was neither a Seer, nor was that a Pensive. It wasn't right. It can't be good. She was weary of it.

She sat watching the Quidditch practice until they were done, not really seeing, and shook her head out of her reverie. Looking back over at the trunk she pushed her experience to the back of her mind to deal with another time. Right now, she decided to deal with getting some lunch.

"Morning" Ginny said the next day plunking down next to Ron. "Wow, you don't look so good." Ron was a little green. He had been the only person she knew in the Great Hall when she arrived for breakfast and he was also alone.

"I was barfing up slugs most of the night. By the way, you don't want to do that and be stuck polishing trophies."

"I have several questions for you now" Ginny mused and Ron launched into his explanation about Malfoy and the broken wand coupled with the detention for flying a car to school.

"Let me tell you, I will never forget the name Tom Marvolo Riddle for the rest of my life" Ron joked miserably. Ginny froze halfway through chewing on her bacon. "Coughed up on that one three times last night!"

'Tom Marvolo Riddle, Tom Marvolo Riddle, Tom Marvolo Riddle' Ginny repeated in her head while trying her best to regulate her breathing. As casually as possible she asked, "Where is the trophy room? They have a whole room just for trophies?" She smiled at him trying to force as much amusement to her face as she could muster.

"Fourth floor, close to charms." Ron shrugged.

Harry and Hermione had now joined them and Ginny stuck around for a minute to try not to make it look like she was running away for any specific reason. Then she bolted once out of the Great Hall. It took a whole half hour to locate the trophy room. There were a lot of empty classrooms and broom closets on the fourth floor. She accidentally came across Percy and a girl looking rather cozy and bashful in one of the classrooms. She just said that she'd gotten turned around and pretended to believe him when he said they'd been practicing spells.

'It'd have to be non-verbal spells if that's the case.' Ginny thought to herself, considering their faces were stuck together.

Finally, though she found it. Tom Marvolo Riddle Special Services to the School. 'Interesting that it is Tom and not Thomas' she mused. Then shook her head and laughed to herself. 'No, that is not the most interesting thing. Tom Marvolo Riddle is real. Was real. Is real.' Ginny was confused. The date on the trophy was about 35 years ago.

It didn't give any indication as to what the 'special service' was. She checked all of the other trophies to see if he was on any more. He wasn't. But Harry's father was. Gryffindor Chaser. She wondered if he knew.

Disappointed she went to the library to try and find any books that might give her some insight.

One month later and she hadn't found anything helpful. Ginny didn't want to ask any of her teachers. The DADA teacher was useless, the Potions and Transfiguration teachers weren't approachable and would ask too many questions, and the Charms and Herbology professors never seemed to have the time for questions.

While the mystery of Tom Marvolo Riddle did nag at her mind she found herself loving her classwork and even helping her fellow classmates with their assignments and making friends.

One-night Hestia had bullied Ginny into letting her give her a manicure. "I wish I had more colours!" Hestia exclaimed. "All mine don't work with your hair colour." Ginny chuckled. She'd never been bothered with girly things before, it would have resulted in too much grief from her brothers.

While Hestia and Norma played with all of the polishes Ginny mused over the idea of just having one bottle of nail polish that you could charm to be any colour you want. It couldn't be overly complicated. There were potions and spells to make things invisible, maybe there was a potion that would give colour. Like a chameleon taking on any colour it wanted. Ginny smiled to herself. That would actually be worth a lot. You would only ever need one bottle, not 100. And there would be something like a top coat to lock the colour in. She played around with the idea in her mind while Hestia finished.

'You look just like Luna with that expression!" Norma chided with Ginny. "Enjoying your first girlie experience?" The three of them laughed. Once her nails were dry, she grabbed her potions book looking for the right ingredients to make her idea come to life.

After a few days she had a list of what ingredients she would need in her pocket at all times. She'd found a book in the library about witchy spells and potions. Basically, an old school Witch Weekly dedicated to cosmetics that helped her greatly. She was on her way back to school with Luna when she saw Hagrid in the pumpkin patch.

"I'll catch up with you at dinner." She called to her friends. "I'm just going to say 'hi' to Hagrid."

Hagrid she realized was the right age to ask about Tom Riddle, and he would know if there was any Houttuynia Cordata around for her nail polish concoction. Two bird with one stone.

"Hello Hagrid" she called as she drew near.

He looked up and leaned on his shovel. "Hullo" he responded brightly.

"I'm Ginny" she greeted.

"A Weasley I reckon eh?" He indicated to his hair.

Ginny smiled and blushed a little. "You can see us coming from a mile away can't you?"

"Always! What brings you to my pumpkin patch today?"

'Lead with the plant' she thought. "Do you know if there is any Rainbow plant around? Or fish plant you may call it?"

"Ah! You mean bishops weed!" He replied smartly. "Not asking for the twins are you? Troublesome little buggers they are." Hagrid chuckled.

Ginny was taken aback at that, but smiled. She knew they too were quite the mad potions masters, the things they had been experimenting with had been quite interesting. "No… I need it for a little experiment of mine."

"Well you're in luck then" Ginny brightened. "Professor Sprout had some in the greenhouse that got a little out of hand. It is a weed after all." He put down his shovel and led her towards the greenhouses. "What is it that you're experimenting with?"

"Chemical composition for the chameleon effect that it has." She responded.

Hagrid slowed and looked at her. "Not exactly the answer I was expecting from a first year."

Ginny smiled shyly. "How long have you been groundskeeper?" She asked trying to reach a subject close to asking about Tom Riddle.

"About 35 years. Got expelled for something that I had nothing to do with. Dumbledore let me stay on as groundskeeper. Good man Dumbledore."

Ginny slowed and couldn't stop her next question before it was out of her mouth. "Because of Tom Riddle?"

Hagrid stopped. "How do you know about that?" He asked in a quiet, almost scared and angry voice.

Ginny heard the tone, and worried that he'd clam up, or tell one of her professors she was asking questions. She stammered. "I, just know that, he got a trophy for Special Services to the School. 35 years ago. Ron told me about it. He had to polish the trophy several times because he threw up slugs all over it." Hagrid looked slightly calmed down. "What, what where the special services?"

"Nothing I can ever want to tell you. You're better off not knowing." He shook his head and continued walking to the greenhouses a little faster than before. "Just know that it was a bad thing that Tom Riddle did, and I was innocent of it."

Ginny had to run a bit to keep up with him. He pointed to greenhouse two. "There's your bishops weed."

"Thank you" Ginny said meekly. Hagrid harrumphed and began walking away. "Hagrid" she called out. He stilled a bit. "Sorry if I upset you."

He looked back at her and she chewed her lip a bit. Hagrid's eyes softened. He just nodded at her. She watched him walk away and now knew for the sure that Tom Riddle was not to be trusted. But there were still a lot of unanswered questions. Ginny gathered up some of the bishops weed and headed back to the castle feeling awful about Hagrid. She resolved to do something nice for him to make it up to him, she just didn't know what.

It took several tries for Ginny to break down the ingredients of the bishops weed and clear nail polish that she'd knicked from Hestia, but finally she managed. She'd also discovered how her little experiment could help her make an apology gift for Hagrid. If the chromatophores were mixed with a flower bud, then they would give the flower blossom a rainbow effect. Mixing the chromatophores into a nail polish composition would be easy enough, but she now needed a top coat that would lock the colour in once it was the colour the wearer wanted.

Between experimenting, sleuthing and homework she did actually find time for her friends. On a Saturday afternoon she was found playing exploding snap with them in the Great Hall, and loosing spectacularly. "So what do you figure was up with the Bludger?" Neville asked her and Luna as he put away his card deck and Luna brought out something called 'Bananagrams', a Muggle game.

He was referring to the rogue Bludger that singled out Harry Potter at the Quidditch game the night before. Harry was still in the hospital wing because his arm had been de-boned. That bit was due to what everyone was calling 'The Lockhart Incident'. Theories were thrown around about tampering, but no one had heard of it happening before.

After a while of playing different board games Ginny was back in her four-poster bed and pulled out the Diary. She stared at Tom Riddles name. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her pen and flipped it open.

 **I don't know what happened last time. I've been trying to figure out how you did that. It was startling.**

 _Where is your Gryffindor bravery? It was only a memory. Have you heard of a Pensive? I can do the same thing with my own memories._

Ginny had heard of a pensive, but this was a book. Made of paper and leather. The letters faded.

 _I've been alone for a long time. I'd like to share with you. And you can tell me about yourself. What's your name?_

She didn't trust him. Even if Tom Riddle was still a live person, he would be at least fifty years-old and talking to an eleven-year-old. Ginny shuddered, the creepy pedophile.

And so, Ginny created another personality for herself. One that was shy and eager to please. She did tell him her real name though. And he showed her glimpses of his life at Hogwarts. She could see his determination and bravado, seeing how he had always 'played' the victim that he had wanted her to believe he was. Made Dumbledore look cruel. He was always asking her to share with him too.

She wrote down drips and drabs of falsities perpetuated from some books she had read and adapted the story lines to work into her life.

One morning however she had fallen asleep holding the diary and she woke up in a blind rage. Fury pumped through her veins and she wanted to spit at anything and everything. Shoving the diary under her pillow she grabbed the curtains of her four-poster bed and ripped them open. By the time her socked feet touched the floor though she was calm.

"Bad dream?" Hestia asked her as she pulled on her shoes.

"Must have been" She paused confused. "I don't remember it now though." Numbly she walked to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. Shaking her head, she toweled her face dry and got ready for the day.

"Did you hear?" Norma asked her excitedly when she arrived in the common room. "Dueling club! How fabulous. We are all signing up!" That mornings episode was pushed to the back of her mind and she became equally excited and headed down to breakfast with her friends.

The popularity of the Dueling Club was school wide. They had to split the school in half due to the demand. However, day of when the first to fourth years were gathered in the Great Hall, she felt her excitement turn to disappointment in a flash when she saw it was Professor Lockhart that was organizing it. She was paired up with Michael Corner as a sparring partner and easily disarmed him and shielded herself against his spells for the only five minutes it took for the sparring to get completely out of hand. Particularly due to the second years.

The animosity between Gryffindor and Slytherin in that year was tumultuous. Fist fights were breaking out. Her and Luna couldn't help but snicker as the rest of the years just backed up to the perimeter and watched the Professors try to wrangle the brawling pairs. Finally, Professor Snape called for one on one dueling to better demonstrate the correct way to do the spells.

When Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were called forward the anticipation was palpable. She knew Malfoy was fairly useless, but Harry was supposed to be a great wizard. She was again disappointed when they turned out to both be poorly trained duelers. 'Really, a tickling charm?' she thought. But then Malfoy shot a great snake out of his wand and her excitement returned. "That was actually impressive" She whispered to Luna.

Then Professor Lockhart had to go and aggravate it. Luna gripped her elbow and they both edged back.

She watched with wide eyes and bated breath as the snake slithered down the table and made to face a second year boy that was standing close to the middle of the long table.

"Hassahaaseth" Came out of Harry's mouth. The room went quiet. Snape got rid of the snake, but everyone was staring dumbfounded at Harry. Ron and Hermione dragged Harry out of the hall. The silence continued for a full five seconds before everyone erupted in whispered amazement and theories on what just happened.

That night she pulled the diary out from under her pillow. The whole day the only thing people could talk about was Harry speaking Parseltongue. She'd never heard of the language until now. No one had any answers, the conclusion that everyone had was that he was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. With no real person left to exhaust her curiosity with she figured she would ask Tom Riddle. The evil bastard may have some answers.

 **Tom, have you ever heard of Parseltongue?**

 _Snake language, of course. I am a Slytherin as you've seen. Why do you ask?_

The response was instant and hurried. Ginny shrugged and told him the truth.

 **A boy in my school spoke to a snake today. I hadn't known it was a thing.**

 _Is this boy a Slytherin?_

 **No, Gryffindor.**

 _What is his name?_

 **Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.**

 _The Boy Who Lived? What kind of association is that to a name?_

 **He destroyed the You-Know-Who, the Dark Lord.**

 _I don't actually know what you are talking about._

 **Voldemort. Was he not around for your time?**

 _And Harry Potter, a boy, was his downfall?_

Tom had a plethora of questions after that, but the more she responded truthfully the more exhausted she became. Finally, she just snapped the book shut and laid down.

The next morning again she awoke in a rage and aggressively shoved the diary under her pillow. But before reaching for the curtain she was once again fine.

Then it clicked.

The diary was manipulating her feelings. She moved her pillow and starred at the cover of the diary. Gently she ran her finger down the spine and felt a hollowness creep into her chest. Removing her finger, she felt it go away. She took a deep breath. Terror filled her bones, she had known Tom Riddle was a bad person, it should have clued her in that this was a dark object.

She pressed her palms to her eyes to try and quell her fears. She heard Hestia, Norma and Luna padding about. She shouldn't tell them, should she? Chewing on the side of her bottom lip she decided against it and put the pillow back over the book.

After dinner one evening, a few days later she was playing Bananagrams with Neville again. After 'letting' him win she was clearing up the tiles and her thoughts returned to her diary that was awaiting her. 'What if he was a Death Eater?' She absent-mindedly spelt out his name. Tom Marvolo Riddle. She stared at it a moment. She'd never heard of the surname before.

"I'm going to head up to my dorm." Neville said pulling her out of her reverie.

She quickly mixed up her tiles. "Okay. Good job by the way." She smiled at him and watched him walk away. Looking back down at the tiles VOLD jumped out at her. With shallow breaths and shaky fingers she rearranged the rest of the letters. Moving the remaining tile to the very far left. She felt as though she'd been stabbed in her sternum. I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.

A high-pitched shriek from down the table startled her and she shoved all the tiles into the bag and half ran back to her dorm room.

She'd passed her dorm mates in the common room and hastily returned Luna's game to her telling her she was going to turn in early. Carefully shutting the door to her dorm room behind her she went over to the bed and removed her pillow.

Tom Riddle was the most evil man she'd ever heard of, and somehow she'd been corresponding with his sixteen year-old self for months. How had she come to possess this?

Closing her eyes, she though hard about then she got her school books. Diagon Alley. They lost Harry. Gone to Gringotts. Went to see Gildroy Lockhart. Her eyes snapped open. Lucius Malfoy! He had touched her books in her cauldron. This time the rage flowing through her veins was founded.

But she was also confused. What was the point? To get her in trouble? Harry had said he was trying to sell dark things in Knockturn Alley. Maybe it was a mistake. Ginny carefully picked up the diary and took it over to her trunk. She moved all of her belongings to the side and placed the diary at the very bottom covering it back up.

It wasn't safe there. She knew that, but until she could figure out what it was exactly how was she supposed to deal with it? Knowing she wasn't going to figure that out tonight she turned back to her nail polish to take her very active mind and put it to use.

Ginny had been successful at making the colour of her nail polish stick for two hours, but then it would go clear again. She read over her library reference books late into the night until sleep would finally overcome her.

One week before Christmas Holidays she snuck into the Restricted Section to research the diary. Something along the lines of immortality was what she was resigned to looking for, and she wouldn't find that kind of thing in the regular section. She grabbed a book titled 'Immortalitatis' and ducked back out to the Herbology section, slipping it into her bag.

"I don't know why my father doesn't think Potter getting attacked by a Bludger like that doesn't count as interesting. He seems to be expecting more to be happening." It was Draco Malfoy. She was on the other side of the bookcase from he and whomever he was talking to. "He keeps asking if something has happened to any of the Mudbloods." Ginny resisted the urge to growl at the derogatory term. "And he asked me about Weasley of all people. Like I would concern myself with the Weasel King."

At that Ginny snarled and narrowed her eyes. Carefully as she could she made her way out of the library with-out being spotted by the Slytherins. "He meant me" She said out loud to herself in a whisper, realizing what Lucius Malfoy had asked his son. She made her way to the nearest alcove as the nausea overcame her and she grew faint. Ginny sank down to the floor. The diary was supposed to make her do things. Possess her maybe? And what would Lucius Malfoy do if it didn't? Try and get it back?

In the recesses of her mind she wondered if this was how Harry had felt last year when he found out about the Philosophers Stone. Was she being stupid as they had been? No. She had to find out what this damned thing was and destroy it.

Over Christmas Holiday, which she spent at Hogwarts with her brothers, she continued her research about the diary and perfecting the nail polish. The latter she had finally figured out. The nail colour stayed for a full two days before she rubbed it off! Now she just needed to figure out how to move ahead from here. She'd already looked up how to submit a Patent.

But she was eleven. Too young to submit it for herself, so she would have to tell someone of age and get their help.

Charlie. She'd decided she could confide in him. Trust him to keep her secret. She'd sent him an owl explaining. She sent another owl to Wonder Witch to see if they would be interested in her product, or buying her recipe.

By the time the rest of the school had returned from their holidays she had her answer from Charlie. He'd had several questions for her, but said he'd be her proxy. Next came the letter to the ministry for a Patent form and filled it out and sent it to him for his signature.

She was on her way to dinner with the newly returned Luna Lovegood when she spotted Lucius Malfoy heading into the Great Hall and her heart stopped, as did her feet. "Go on ahead Luna, I've just remembered I didn't finish my Transfiguration essay."

Luna smiled at her softly. "That was a poor lie."

Ginny stared at her a second. "You're right" her shoulders sagged. Luna could see straight through her. "Honestly someone just went into the Hall I just don't want to see."

"Okay." Luna accepted that and gracefully continued her way into the dinner.

Ginny ran back to her dorm and grabbed her outdoor dressings and snuck outside. She knew there was a chance that Mr. Malfoy could use Floo, but she was pretty sure he would choose to apparate out instead. And that meant he would have to head towards Hogsmeade off the grounds so she hid and waited until then.

She wound up having to wait a full two hours. It was eight o'clock by the time she saw the two Malfoy's headed for the gate that set the boundary for the wards. She strained her ears. It was dark enough now that she was positive she wouldn't be seen.

"I do not blab for attention" Draco sulked back.

"All you need to know is that you are safe in Slytherin."

"Safe from what?" Draco whined and stamped his foot in a childish way.

'Man, he is spoiled' Ginny thought. She could almost hear the older Malfoy's eye's rolling at his son's behavior.

"Just know that if what I am anticipating does not occur by your end of term, I will enlist your assistance next year."

Ginny's eyes widened. They were now out of ear shot. She lay there thinking over what to do while she waited for Draco to go back to the school. She was literally frozen where she was, but couldn't chance getting caught.

She couldn't not go to school next year. Even if she convinced her mom to homeschool her, Malfoy could show up at the Burrow. Home wasn't an option. Hogwarts wasn't an option. But maybe another school was? Beaubaton was out of the question. It was too close and she didn't speak French. Maybe Ilvermory? Or should she see Dumbledore?

Though, he had praised Harry, Ron and Hermione last year for their antics so maybe his judgement wasn't so great. He did also hire Gilderoy Lockhart for a DADA professor, so did he really know what was best? No, Ilvermory was the best option.

'Now, how in the hell am I supposed to figure out how to transfer to Ilvermory? Maybe there's some sort of international student scholarship?' She pondered to herself.

She glanced around. The coast was clear. She stood up and stomped her feet to try and get some feeling back into them before she trudged up to the castle eager to climb into her bed. Ginny knew she had a long night of tossing and turning with worry ahead of her. Best to get started on that.

Once she arrived to the dorm, she saw Luna waiting for her holding out two bread rolls and an apple tart. "I thought you might be hungry" She smiled.

Ginny's stomach grumbled at the sight. "Luna, I love you!" She exclaimed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter. I only dream about him sometimes.**

Dear Ms. Ginevra Weasley,

Thank you for contacting us about your nail polish. It is a very interesting idea.

If we would be able to get a sample of your product we would very much be interested in further discussions with you. Please send one along and we will be in touch.

Imelda Johnson

Wonder Witch Ind.

 _Ms. Ginevra Weasley_

 _Your patent for the Chameleon Nail Polish Recipe has been approved. Please see the enclosed certificate._

 _Ministry of Magic_

 _Patent Office_

Hey Gin Bug,

Seriously? I mean initially I was just going along with it. Now it's real? That is awesome. I've heard back from Wonder Witch and they are offering thirty thousand Galleons upfront for the recipe and 5% of the profits. Holy shit!

You are incredible Ginny. I've opened a Gringotts account for you. We're co-signers on that.

Love you, Charlie

 _Ms. Weasley,_

 _Please fill out the enclosed application for our next start of year term for Ilvermory. We would be excited to have you join us for your second year. We will require a letter of recommendation as well as your transcripts._

 _Tuition for the year would be equivalent to 3500 Galleons. That covers dormitory fees and meals. Please be advised that you will have to arrange travel through your own Ministry._

 _Attached is the Parental Consent form and send it along with the application form._

 _We look forward to hearing from you._

 _Ms. Davis_

 **Charlie,**

 **I'm going to be going to Ilvermory next year for school! I've decided to broaden my horizons and blaze a new path. Hogwarts has been great so far, I get on great with my friends, but the professors are somewhat lacking, and now that I'm not limited by what mum and dad can afford for me, I want this.**

 **I know I've asked a lot of you already, but can you fill out this Parental Consent form for me?**

 **Please, please, please. I've attached a photo of me begging with my big brown eyes. Stare at it hard while you decide.**

 **Love you,**

 **Ginny**

Ginny,

Now you are moving to America? What the hell? Although I guess the first thing I did when I was free was move to Romania. I don't know if me filling out the form is legal though. Ilvermory is pretty cool I've heard.

Here is your consent form. You don't fight fair with that photo.

Love you, Charlie

P.S- If mum and dad ever find out that I helped you flee the country I'll kidnap you and feed you to a dragon. They have a distinct liking for little girls!

00000000000000000

Ginny could hardly believe this was happening. Her plan was working! She'd duped Professor Lockhart into writing her a letter of recommendation but it read so ridiculously that she couldn't use it, so she went to Professor Flitwick and reasoned with him about her wish to transfer schools, siting a wish to see the world, separate herself from the legacy of her brothers and experience the different style of magical education. So he conceded to her points and wrote her an amazing letter of recommendation mentioning that she was top in her year, helped out her other classmates and had a drive and attitude to be admired.

Now she just had to convince her parents. And create a fake parental consent form.

00000000000000000

"I am just so proud of you Ginny!" Arthur Weasley exclaimed. "Full scholarship!" Ginny's parents were over the moon about her admittance to Ilvermory with scholarship. The scholarship part was a lie, but she couldn't tell them about her invention and the fact that she now had more money in hers and Charlies account at Gringotts than they did.

Charlie more than ever felt uncomfortable about their arrangement, but he didn't rat her out. He had even offered to go with her to the states to take her to school, claiming that he was going to do something with the Cape Dragons of the Rocky Mountains. A portkey had been organized to take her and Charlie to Ilvermory from Kings Cross September first at 11:00am so her parents could wish a bon voyage to all of their children at the same time. All except Bill, who they were all amazingly going to see in Cairo Egypt since her dad had won the Ministry Sweepstakes!

Ginny was especially excited because the old magic of the Pharaohs had been some pretty disturbing stuff and might give her more insight into the diary, which was now packed into her rucksack for their holiday. Her many months of research at the Hogwarts library had not gotten her any answers. Luckily she had managed to dodge Lucius Malfoy at Kings Cross when they disembarked from the train. Now she was sat at the table with her brothers and parents eating their breakfast on the morning of the international portkey to Egypt.

"So, you aren't going to Hogwarts next year?" Ron looked aghast at the concept.

"I didn't want to tell you all I had applied. Just in case I didn't get in." She put on a bashful façade that Charlie narrowed his eyes at slightly. Especially about the scholarship part. Their mother dabbed her eyes.

"Oh, we'll miss you so much!" she exclaimed.

"Honestly mum" Fred said.

"She'll be gone and back just like we will." George finished.

"Remarkable accomplishment" Percy commented to her. "Truly remarkable... You will get such a well-rounded education seeing how two nations approach magic."

Ginny was ready to change the subject. Charlie and she hadn't had time to talk since he'd arrived just the night before, and she'd already gone to bed.

"Alright" Arthur Weasley clapped his hands. "Everyone grab your bags, we will gather in the orchard outside the wards in ten minutes. Portkey is in 15 minutes. If you're late you're walking."

000000000000

Cairo was disgusting. There were Muggles everywhere! It was loud, the food, while rather good, did not sit well with their constitution and their parents were afraid to let them out of their sight. After sun down, when they were at their hotel, Ginny had nothing to do but watch a man in the 'car park' below push cars around. It was like a Chinese puzzle of vehicles with only a half car length of space on either side to negotiate a car out. She always had one eye on her rucksack, making sure no one accidentally went into it and found the diary.

The pyramids were pretty cool. It was amazing what the Muggle take on how they were built was. Her parents refused to allow her to enter one of the digs because it was too gruesome for her to see. Ginny fumed about that. Ron was only one year older than her! But Charlie offered to stay back with her while everyone else went in.

"You going to fill me in on your secret a little more there madame inventor?" They were sat a few feet from the entrance/exit of the dig on a big granite block. Muggle repelling wards were up so they couldn't get into it, so the two of them shouldn't be overheard by anyone going in or out of the dig either.

"Not much to tell really" Ginny shrugged. "I had an idea, made it happen. Then when I realized the value of it, I thought about how mom and dad would react." She could picture the awkwardness. Not just with her parents, but her school aged brothers too. Fred and George were well adjusted, and people didn't say anything to them about their clothes for fear of getting pranked something horrible, but Ron was really uncomfortable about the state of the Weasley finances being brought up.

"Yes, I suppose considering how much is in 'my' account at Gringotts right now it would be weird. It keeps getting bigger too! Even with your 'scholarship'" he nudged her shoulder.

Ginny chuckled and blushed. "Well I couldn't let them pay for it could I? They had a hard-enough time with the fee's for Hogwarts, but the International Student fees for Ilvermory were so much more!"

Charlie held his hands up "Hey, I agree with you. But my question now is why are you going? You said 'broaden your horizons' in your letter, but is there more?"

Ginny hadn't really considered what her response to that questions should be. What lie should she tell? "You know" She took a deep breath looking around her. "Having money now has opened so may doors for me. I never would have considered before. Honestly, you all have left a pretty crazy legacy for me at Hogwarts and now I have the opportunity to travel and I want to take advantage of it and plow my own path."

It was partly true. If she didn't have Riddle's diary though she probably wouldn't be running away to America. Charlie bought it though. It was truthful enough.

"Speaking of my education!" Ginny said suddenly after a few moments of the two of them sitting in a comfortable silence. "Any chance we can check out some Egyptian wizarding book stores? You can buy me a book or two."

Charlie smiled at her and they hopped down off the block.

000000000000

'Found it!' Ginny sat there in her room astounded. Her Egyptian book translated to English titled "Secrets of the Darkest Arts" lay open in her lap. They had been home for two weeks now, and Ginny hadn't had much time to herself since then, but finally she'd managed to read through most of the book. 'A horcrux in which a Dark Wizard or Witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality. Horcruxes can only be created after committing murder, the supreme act of evil.' It went on to mention the objects affecting those with prolonged exposure to them and how to resurrect the witch or wizard from the object.

"Sixteen" Ginny said to herself. "Tom killed someone when he was sixteen." Her eyes grew in her horror. Percy was only sixteen. She couldn't imagine someone Percy's age even contemplating that. The book did not divulge into the information on how to destroy it. But Ginny could draw her own conclusions on that. She had to 'kill' it. "Great, how do I kill a freaking book?" She rolled her eyes "Tear out the pages?"

0000000000000

September first arrived fast. They'd spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron where Harry was staying, and had a bunch of ministry cars take them to Kings Cross. Very odd. But then her parents had been very on edge ever since they got back from Egypt. Maybe it had something to do with the escapee from Azkaban, but she knew better than to ask about it. So, when they all stood on the platform, Ginny saw Lucius Malfoy and she tried not to make eye contact with him. She did however make eye contact with Draco Malfoy. He knew, it was written all over his face. They wanted it back.

She quickly looked away. "I'm just going to run on the train quickly and say goodbye to my friends!" She told her parents and Charlie as she went to board the steamer train. 'If the Malfoy's see me get on the train maybe they will think I am going to Hogwarts.' There was a chance they had no idea she was going to Ilvermory and it would buy her some time. "Hey!" She smiled when she found Luna and Neville in the same compartment. "So glad I got to see you both before you leave!"

They only had time to say a quick hello, hug and promise to write before she snuck off the train back to Charlie and her parents. She did her best to stand behind them away from the eyes of the youngest Malfoy. It seemed that the older one had already left.

The train pulled away and her parents embraced her. "You promise to write all the time?" Her mother demanded more than asked.

"I promise mum."

"And here is some spending money!" She dad said slipping a few American Muggle notes in her hand.

"Dad!" she started, embarrassed knowing she couldn't tell them how unnecessary it was.

"It isn't even close to what we would have spent for your Hogwarts year fees, so don't fight it."

She blushed and accepted it. "Come on Ginny" Charlie held out a zippo lighter for her. "I'll grab your trunk, you grab the rucksack."

With a final farewell to her parents she clasped Charlie's hand with the lighter between their palms and waited for the swishing spinning feeling to overtake them.

00000000000000

Charlie landed gracefully on the lawn. Ginny, who had only taken four Portkey's before (Two the Romania trip, and two for the Egypt trip) wound up doing a tuck and roll the culminated in star fishing herself staring up at the sky where dawn was just breaking.

"Welcome Miss Weasley" Ginny heard a lady's voice say from a few yards away. "Points for the tuck and roll, but you definitely didn't stick the landing."

She scrambled to her feet and located the person behind the voice. A brunette woman around her late 20's was standing there with a clip board and a smile. She looked tired, but relaxed and friendly. Considering it was four a.m. where they were the tiredness made sense.

She came over to them, her dressing was very casual. Muggle jeans and a grey hoodie with diagonal buttons and a hint of plaid trimming. "You on the other hand." She indicated to Charlie. "Full points! I take it that wasn't your first rodeo!"

Charlie grinned cheekily at her. "Or maybe I am just naturally good at everything." He winked. "I'm Charlie, one of Ginny's brothers."

"Ah, so you prefer Ginny to Ginevra then?" She turned away from Charlie's flirtations while Ginny snickered.

"Yes, Ginny please. Ginevra is for when I'm in trouble, and I don't plan on causing any."

"I'm Miss Davis, here to show you around and get you settled. The other students haven't arrived yet, but we will pair you up with a student to get the proper lay of the land." They followed her towards the three-story monumental country house that spanned the size of a city block. The roof had turrets and columns at the entrance. It was still too dark to make out the landscape properly.

Miss Davis led them off the manicured lawn and across the stone driveway that surrounded the perimeter of the building, through the double doors into the dimly lit entrance hall. There were twin curved stair cases leading up either side of the entry way to the second floor. "All classrooms and offices are at the South side of the building, which is where we are, and student housing is at the North side. There are several common areas and the mess hall is at the far North East corner. The food is really good here. The three main meals are served breakfast, 6:30 to 8:00, lunch, 11:30 to 1:00, and dinner, 5:00 to 7:00. If you would like anything in between there is a small market place and coffee shop right by it that is open from nine to nine, but that will cost you."

She led them down through the center of the building where there was a court yard with a fountain in the middle. They wound around it and through the entrance on the other side. "I'll show you to where your room is and then we can grab some coffee and talk."

They went up to the second floor on the North West side. "She doesn't have to get sorted?" Charlie asked.

"Sorted?" Miss Davis sounded confused.

"Yeah, into a house."

"We don't have houses here. I forget Hogwarts is like that."

"So how do you decide on the Quidditch teams?"

"Oh, do you play Quidditch?" She asked Ginny.

"I thought I might like to try out." Charlie had bought a Nimbus 2000 on her behalf and it was going to be delivered to Ilvermory.

"Well you just try out. We have five teams usually, so whichever team wants you draws straws to see where you'll go. What position?"

"Chaser preferably. Maybe Seeker."

"Wonderful! Well tryouts should be on the first weekend."

"Why usually five?"

"Sometimes we don't have enough players for the fifth team." She shrugged. "And here is your room."

The hallway was lined with similar doors. At least 15 on each side. Miss Davis opened the door and the room was small, only two beds. They were single sized beds; a wardrobe was on the corridor side against the wall on both sides and there were two desks against the exterior wall under a wide window.

"Only two people to a room?" Charlie was surprised. Ginny was elated, and a little nervous. She'd never had trouble making friends, but hoped her roommate didn't wind up being terrible. They deposited her things and Miss Davis gave her a key to her room.

A key, not a password. "Are the doors charmed against Alohamora?" She asked.

Miss Davis chuckled. "No they aren't. We just have the habit of embracing some Muggle ideas here. We even have a drivers course for the older students so they can learn to drive cars."

Ginny and Charlie gave each other a look. Hogwarts would never do that. Miss Davis just smiled at their astonishment. "Yes, we don't have the predominantly pure blood students that you find in England, so we have blended in quite a lot of Muggle life here, including a television in most of the common areas."

Around eleven a.m. Mountain Daylight Time (they were actually somewhere in the state of Montana) Charlie took his leave of them. Miss Davis told her other students would be arriving shortly and left her to get settled in her room and explore the grounds.

Ginny found the 'Mess'. It was a large room with various tables and chairs with a long buffet on one side. There was a lady in behind the buffet humming to herself. Miss Davis had given her and Charlie scones earlier for 'breakfast' but she was very hungry now and unsure of how to proceed. "Um, excuse me?" Ginny asked politely.

The woman turned around "Oh hello there Ducky! You must be the English darling that's come over to us!" She reminded Ginny of her mother. Plump and kind, but couldn't place her accent. Maybe Irish with and American influence?

"Yes, Ginny." She smiled meekly as her stomach let out a grumble.

"Well hello Ginny. I be's Annie, but people just calls me Cook. And I'm betting you could use something delicious eh? Now just let me grab you some dinner." She had a twinkle to her eye and flicked her wand towards an open doorway in the corner.

Five minutes later Ginny was digging into an amazing chowder and Cook was beaming at her.

"Are there house elves here? You don't do all of the cooking do you?" Ginny asked between bites.

"Oh no Ducky. I am just in charge of the menu and the ordering. We have house elves that do all of the prep and cleaning."

"Where are you from? I don't recognize your accent. Ireland?"

Cook let out a big belly laugh. "Oh my Jesus no. I be's a Newfoundlander. Most peoples can't guess it unless they knows."

"Newfoundlander?"

"Yes by, It's a big island province in Canada."

Ginny knew Canada didn't have their own magic school, but the fact that Canadian witches and wizards would go to Ilvermory had escaped her.

"Hey Cook!" Shouted a boy that just ran through the door.

"Ethan!" Cook came around the counter and gave the boy a hug. "Perfect timing." She led him over to the table Ginny was sitting at and directed him to sit in the chair opposite her. "This here's Ginny. She's from England and after I get you some fixins you can show her around."

The two examined each other. He was about her age, dirty blond hair, narrow face and eyes that she couldn't quite make out the colour of. Maybe hazel. He had an air of sweetness. "Hello" Ginny said finally.

"Hey, I'm Ethan." He replied.

"So I heard. Ginny" she smiled.

"So I heard" he cocked his head and smiled back at her. "When did you arrive?"

"Early this morning. Four a.m. But it is now 8 p.m. in my head with the time change."

"Long day!" Cook set down some chowder in front of him. "Energy enough to see the Quidditch pitch after we eat?"

"There is always time for that."

They ate quickly and Ethan showed her around all of the grounds. He was the third child of five and his family lived in the south of Montana on a ranch. He and Ginny talked all afternoon about Hogwarts and bonded over what it was like having so many siblings and Quidditch. He wanted to join a team this year too. Amazingly enough Ethan was the only one in his family to be a wizard. They sat on the grass by a pond and Ginny fell asleep in the sun listening to his stories about the farm.

"Hey Ginny." Ethan nudged her. "Time to go in for dinner."

Ginny blinked a few times to clear the cobwebs out of her head and wiped the drool from the side of her mouth. "Sorry! Was I asleep for long?"

Ethan shrugged. "About an hour."

"Wow, I am terrible company!"

"Well it is now past midnight your time, so I can forgive you for that. But almost everyone should have arrived by now, so let's go introduce you."

Ginny stretched. "What are the professors like?" She asked as they walked the half a kilometer back to the school.

"You mean the teachers? They're alright." She closed her eyes and smiled at the lingo she was going to have to adjust to.

"Anyone I should be weary of?"

"Weary? Like… afraid? No. What were the teachers like at Hogwarts?" He asked a little concerned.

She shrugged. "Some were great, some were very strict and quick to dock house points and give out detention. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher changed every year, last year it was Gilderoy Lockhart. He was an idiot. And the Potions Master was especially happy to torture anyone that wasn't in own House."

"Torture how?" Ethan asked slowly.

"Not physically!" She assured him. "They weren't savages!"

"Oh, bad word to use around here. We have some Native American students and that's a rude name for them."

Ginny widened her eyes. "Is it like… _Mudblood_ bad?" She whispered that word.

"I don't know what that means. What's a Mudblood?" She was surprised by how loud he said it.

"Um, it's a derogatory term for a Muggle born. Very insulting where I am from. Apparently not here though." She smiled. This place seemed so laid back and happy.

When she got back to her room her roommate was there, a narrow-faced girl with humorous light green eyes and a big smile with dark short hair. "Hey! You must be Ginny! I'm Megan." She stepped forward and gave Ginny a hug. Ginny let out a surprised laugh and gently hugged her back. "I was wondering where you had got to. I've been here for an hour and saw your stuff."

"Yes, sorry it was in the middle of the room, but I figured you had one of these beds last year so I wanted to wait to choose one."

"Don't you just want her to keep talking?" Ethan commented from the doorway.

"Totally. Sounds so proper." Megan smiled at him. "Been showing her around?"

"Yeah, found her in the caf and then droned on and on until she fell asleep by the pond."

"Well that explains the grass." Megan laughed and picked a few blades of grass out of Ginny's hair. "That or you already made a move on the new girl!" Ginny's jaw dropped and she blushed understanding the inference. Ethan laughed and excused himself. "So, you want to help me with the wardrobes?"

"Erm, what? What are we doing with them?" Megan was picking up Ginny's things and putting them on the right-side bed. "Well, we are going to move them to the center of the room to make a kid of partition. For more privacy."

"Oh! Great idea!"

"I mean not that I don't want to get to know you, but I feel more comfortable getting dressed when you can't see all of my gorgeous assets." She grinned. They used their wands to create a barrier down the center of the room with the wardrobes and the desks. "There. Now just a little curtain between the desks and it is almost like we have our own private rooms!"

"Lovely!"

"So, I figure we have about 30 minutes until the assembly, so if you want to unpack and chat." Megan gestured to Ginny's trunk.

Megan had already unpacked, so she made herself comfortable on Ginny's bed and watched Ginny ready her side of the room. Megan was one of four girls and a pureblood. She loved music and excelled at transfiguration. The conversation flowed so easily between them.

"Do we have to wear our uniforms for the assembly?" She felt weird saying assembly.

"No, it's casual. We only wear uniforms for classes." That was good because just then a bell tolled. Megan's eyes went wide and she grinned. "Lets go!" She linked her arm through Ginny's and led the way.

 **AN- No the story will not stretch on forever with Ginny at Ilvermory. Her time there will go by quickly, and will all be relevant. And yes, I realize Charlie probably wouldn't have bought a book about the 'Darkest Arts' for his not yet twelve year old sister, but this is fiction. So deal with it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, I just wish I did.**

Ilvermory was such a huge change from Hogwarts. Ginny was astounded at how relaxed and friendly everyone was. Even the teachers, not professors, teachers. Her broom had made it to her in time for the Quidditch try-outs and she had actually made it onto one of the teams as a Chaser. The Ilvermory Fireballs. Ethan had made a team too, the Ridgebacks, he was a Beater.

They'd become good friends. He and Megan both, except Megan tended to over dramatize things and Ginny liked to give her her space. Luna and Neville had been owling her pretty regularly and she was so happy that the distance between them hadn't dampened their friendship.

Classes were going excellently and she was loving her life and routine here. The horcrux was still in one piece though and she had drawn up a list in her mind of how to destroy it. For all the great things about Ilvermory there wasn't an excess of empty classrooms for her to practice spells or brew potions that weren't part of the curriculum. Draught of the Living death wasn't exactly something she could whip up in her dorm room without Megan asking any questions. (It also wouldn't work since it was basically a super strong sedative and non-lethal.)

Then one weekend in the middle of October a few of the students were going into town. There was a small wizarding community in Kalispell that they could get butterbeers and Bertie Bots Every Flavoured Beans in. It was there while Ethan was getting more ingredients for his potions supplies that Ginny saw they sold Basilisk Venom. It was very rare, and incredibly expensive. Her eyes bugged out when she saw the price. There was no way the witch behind the counter would sell it to a 12-year old either. She decided to put in an owl order for it. One ounce would be more than sufficient right? Boiling it in acid didn't work. It had still looked brand new after that. So, it must take a magical method to deliver its 'death'.

She hadn't written in it again. The memories of what Tom Riddle had shared with her were enough to stop her from ever doing that again. And if it wasn't bad enough sharing memories with an unknown 'Tom', finding out he was actually Voldemort sure stopped her from her correspondence.

It took two weeks, but on Halloween her delivery of one ounce of Basilisk venom arrived at her dorm room window. Megan was out so at the time with some other girls getting their costumes finalized. America had a huge tradition of dressing up on Halloween as different characters and animals. Ginny was being forced to dress up too to conform to her new country. She simply donned cat ears and drew on whiskers with Megan's black eye liner.

Now seemed as good a time as any to make another attempt to destroy it.

Latching the door locked she retrieved the diary from her trunk and put it in her cauldron. The Basilisk venom came with a tear dropper. Holding her breath and leaning back so her head wasn't over the open mouth of the cauldron she squeezed out a drop of the venom.

An evil hiss sounded when it touched the cover of the diary. An excited shiver went through her. Five more drops followed and she heard what sounded like a soft scream. She emptied the rest of the tear dropper onto the diary and looked into the cauldron. Ink was pouring out of the pages.

"I did it" Ginny repeated quietly over and over to herself. She put the tear dropper back on the top of phial to stopper it. There were still two thirds left, and at 100 Galleons an ounce she wasn't going to waste it.

There was now a mess in her cauldron to deal with. Carefully she retrieved the former horcrux and waited patiently for the ink to drip off of it. Now what to do with it? Throwing it out seemed like a stupid idea, and should anyone come across it like this in her belongings, a battered withered book with a hole through the middle, there would be questions.

Something reflective caught her eye from the other side of the room. Megan's necklace with a pendant on it. Ginny's eyebrows went up. Transfiguring it into a charm for a necklace. Interesting. She'd know where it was at all times.

While she waited for the pages to dry, she searched her belongings for the golden necklace she'd received for her birthday that previous summer. The twins had given it to her with a God-awful quartz something or other. She removed the pendant/amulet thing that was on the chain and tossed it back in her trunk.

Casting a careful cleaning spell to clear up what was left of the mess on the diary she laid it out on her desk. Closing her eyes Ginny envisioned the style of book-shaped pendant she wanted to change the diary into. It was a little more advanced than what they were being taught in class, but the principles were the same.

It took several tries to get it right, but in the end, she was left with a pretty golden pendant of a partially opened book with the pages fanned out. She put a sticking charm on it and slid it onto the chain. Quickly now she cleaned her cauldron and put it away.

Finally, she sat on her bed and took a deep, cleansing breath. She touched her new necklace and closed her eyes as she lay down. She'd done it.

Ginny was only able to rest her eyes and revel in her relief for ten minutes before Megan rattled the doorknob and spelled it open. "Come on Ginny! We're going to go surprise the guys with a shaving cream fight!" she giggled.

Ginny grinned widely at her with big, excited eyes and giggled taking one of the cans of shaving cream offered.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Want to come to my place for Thanksgiving?" Ethan threw his arm around her shoulder as she headed to breakfast on the first of November.

Ginny was in the best mood she'd been in since the morning of receiving her Hogwarts acceptance letter. Before discovering Harry Potter in the kitchen that is. "Oh, I've heard of Thanksgiving. You sit around eating copious amounts of food and watch soccer, right? Do you think your family would mind?"

"Football" He corrected her. "And, of course not. What's one more mouth on top of the seven stuffing their face at the table? And we can go horseback riding too. Probably have a few extra chores to do, but I think you can hack it!"

"That would be great! I've never been to a Muggle house before."

Whatever Ethan said next fell on deaf ears as Ginny and he reached the corridor that led to the cafeteria There were several windows looking out over the courtyard. Lucius Malfoy was there, that platinum blond hair could have only belonged to he or a Veela. She felt her stomach drop. Ginny grabbed Ethan's hand and bolted back the way they came. Instead of going to Ginny's room she led them up the stairs to Ethan's.

"What's going on?" He asked as they hurriedly ascended the stairs. On the second floor they still had a view over the courtyard, she kept them out of sight.

"You see that impossibly blond man in the courtyard?" Ethan looked down and nodded. "His family and mine hate each other. He's an evil prick and I don't want him to see me." Ginny was almost hyperventilating. Ethan gave her a look like she was crazy, but the crease between his eyebrows conveyed his concern. "Can I hide out in your room?"

"My room?"

"Please." She gripped the front of his shirt in her desperation.

He took her hands off his shirt and held them in his own. "Alright, calm down. We'll go to my room." He led the way. Once there Ginny wrinkled her nose at the smell. Ethan caught it. "What?" he questioned.

"Nothing" she smirked. "I just forgot for the last few months what teenage boy smelled like."

He grabbed a pillow off his bed and threw it at her. "Shut up about it or you can leave." He smiled at her. Then sat at his desk chair and patted his bed for her to sit on. "So… What the hell?"

"Sorry" Ginny said deflated. She sat down "That guy is Lucius Malfoy" Ethan snorted at the name and Ginny smiled at his reaction. "Has anyone told you about how a decade ago there was an evil wizard in England and he had a bunch of evil followers?" Ethan shrugged non-committedly, so Ginny quickly told the abridged version of the war and about Death Eaters. Her parents being on the good side and Harry Potters relationship to her family.

"So, this Lucien guy was a Death Eater?"

"Lucius, yes."

"And what do you think he would do to you seeing you here?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. What could he possibly do? She wondered. Was he there for her, looking to go through her belongings? Absent mindedly she fingered her necklace with the 'not a horcrux' on it. The sticking charm was working on it. The pendant actually looked quite elegant.

"Want me to spy?" He asked mischievously.

Ginny grinned. "Yes!"

It was pointless though. Malfoy left after breakfast. However, Ethan had followed them to Ginny and Megan's room. "Just thought I should say hello to the girl before I left." Ethan overheard him say with a hint of malice to his voice.

It turned out that the Hogwarts governors did a tour of the other magical schools annually. This year Malfoy had volunteered. Ginny took great relief in the fact that it was an annual thing and he wouldn't have another excuse to visit until next year.

By the time Thanksgiving had rolled around she had all but forgotten about it. Ethan's family Ranch was great! She'd never gone horseback riding before and it took some getting used to, but by the end of the long weekend she had it down, along with a few bruises on the inside of her thighs. Though the American holiday was on a Thursday there weren't any classes on the Friday, so for four days she had bunked up with his sister and helped with chores around the ranch.

On the Sunday the family was around the table having lunch before Ethan's dad was going to drive them back to the school when his elderly grandmother passed away right there at the table. She had been very sick for a long time, Ginny was in shock but did her best to help and wrangle the younger siblings out of the way with Ethan.

His parents had to take care of that whole situation so Ethan's eldest brother Jason came to get Ginny and Ethan and take them back to school. It was a pretty somber ride to start, but they started telling her stories about what their Gran had been like when they were younger and she was more vibrant. By the time they reached Ilvermory the brothers seemed to be dealing with it better. Still, Ethan's brother slipped him a mickey of something called 'Fireball' and ruffled his hair.

She and Ethan deposited their belongings and met up again in Ethan's room. He said he needed to toast his Gran. Ethan's dorm mate Jason was there with a somber expression when Ginny arrived. By the end of the night the mickey of fiery liquid had been polished off by the two twelve-year old's, and one thirteen-year old. They were interminably sloshed and Ethan had exhausted his Gran stories and the conversation had wandered in a million different directions.

Ginny passed out on the floor and when morning broke the three celebrated their first ever hang-overs in silence hampered with intermittent groans. That experience had solidified Ethan and Ginny's friendship. They were friends before, but like Ron, Harry and Hermione with the Troll for their first year, sometimes it is those with you during the major life events that wind up meaning the most.

She was invited back to the Ranch for Christmas as well. After his parents had seen her work ethic over the November holiday,..

she now had an open invitation to come back. They could always use the extra helping hands.

By the end of her year she was second in her classes overall and she was in the top ten for pick of Chasers for the following year! Megan and she signed up to room with each other for the following year and she was more than happy to 'borrow' Ginny's broom for the summer as Ginny couldn't take it home with her.

The last day of school was on the summer solstice, June 21. Ginny had a wobbly chin as she packed up her room and moved the desk and wardrobes back where they belonged. Her Portkey was set for noon the next day and she was trying not to cry. This place felt like another home and two months away from it was going to be torture.

The bright spot for her though was that she would be going to the Quidditch World Cup this summer!

She and Ethan were hanging out in his room with Megan and Jason for one last visit before bed. Megan was the first to leave around ten and not too long after, Ginny bid them good night. She had just reached the stairs when she heard steps behind her. "Gin, wait up." It was Jason. "I probably won't see you tomorrow because I'm headed out really early. But I just wanted to tell you that..." He paused and bit his lip. "I'll miss you."

Ginny was surprised. They weren't particularly close, he was a year ahead of her and they only hung out when Ethan was round. "Oh!" Was all she could say. Then he quickly leaned forward and gave her a chaste kiss.

"Just wanted you to know" He said lamely and smiled. "Have a good summer."

"Oh, yeah. You too." She replied quietly. He turned back to his room and she continued on to hers in a daze. Megan was already under the covers. Ginny climbed into her bed and smiled to herself reliving that moment over and over. She got kissed. Jason kissed her. He was rather cute too. She'd never really noticed before. She fell into slumber feeling rather happy with herself.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Fred. George. Are you ready? I want to leave to grab Harry in five minutes." Arthur Weasley yelled from the base of the stairs of the Burrow.

"You're going to Floo to a Muggle house?" Ginny asked entering from the kitchen.

"Yes! Got the Floo connected just for today." He beamed proudly.

"Do they have a fireplace?"

Arthurs face fell. He hadn't considered that. "Do some Muggles not have fireplaces? How do they heat their houses?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. For all her father's fascination with Muggles he'd never fully understood their day to day things, nor had he ever been in a Muggle house. In fact, Ginny was the only Weasley that had. American Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter she'd spent at Ethan's home hanging out with his family and helping with the Ranch. "They have these electric things called furnaces. You might want to Apparate there and knock on the door so you don't scare the crap out of them."

"Ginny! Language!" Her mother yelled from the kitchen. The woman had ultra-sonic hearing. "Arthur, maybe you should take Ginny with you instead."

Fred and George were thundering down the stairs now, faces a little too eager. Arthur looked from them to his daughter. She was the safer bet. "Sorry boys, maybe next time." He turned to her. "Ginny, let's go!"

Ginny gave a surprised look to the twins before looking back at her dad. "I didn't mean for you to take me!" She knew the twins would get back at her for taking away their fun. She'd overheard something about feeding Harry's cousin some sweets they'd developed.

"Pip pip." Her dad nudged her towards the door.

They went to the edge of the property and he held out his arm for her. After a suctioning feeling they landed in an alley by a corner market. "Oh! Look at the rubbish! Why would they throw that out?" He indicated to a pile of trash.

She didn't know exactly what had caught his fancy, it was waste from a corner market it looked like, she just headed to the street. "What's the address?" She tried to call his attention.

"Number four Privet Drive." He called back, still looking through the trash.

She sighed. He could be there for hours. Ginny figured she'd just go on ahead. He'd catch up once he realized she was gone surely.

The homes all looked identical with the exception of the different cars and shrubberies. She studies the homes a bit harder and found the house numbers. Number four was quite close to where they landed. She walked up and rang the doorbell.

An enormous man opened the door. "Yes?" He demanded.

"Oh! Um…" She was a little thrown off. He seemed rather agitated and like he wasn't expecting company.

"Are you selling something?"

"No… um. Does Harry live here? I may have the wrong place."

His eyes narrowed and he looked her over carefully. "You are here for him? How did you get here? Why is it just you?" He poked his head out the door further probably looking for a vehicle of some sort.

She narrowed her eyes right back at him. She didn't know much about Harry's relatives, except that they weren't keen on magic. "Do you really want me to tell you the tale of how I came to be standing on your doorstep within hearing distance of the neighbors?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

He pursed his lips at her and stepped back into the house. "No." He said through clenched teeth and allowed her inside.

She took a look around. The place was impossibly neat, and all the pictures on the wall were of the same beady eyed chubby blond boy through-out the years. She also noticed a lock on the outside of the cupboard under the stairs with a mail slot. That was odd.

Harry's uncle led her into the sitting room where she found Harry and his other relatives. "Heyya." She greeted him. He'd gotten taller. She could tell even though he was sitting down. Still wearing the over-sized clothes. His face had filled out slightly, but he still had those rather gorgeous green eyes.

He looked confused for a second. "Hi" he responded slowly.

Harry's cousin stood up rather abruptly and extended his hand to her. "Hi, I'm Dudley." His mother quickly reached to stop him from taking her hand.

"Hello" Ginny nodded back.

"Is it just you then?" The uncle demanded.

"No, my dad will be along in a second. He just got… distracted."

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

She turned to him in surprise. He hadn't recognized her? She internalized her eye roll. She hadn't changed that much. The only difference really was that she too had grown a little taller, and had just started wearing a training bra. Then again it wasn't like they ever spent time together since the summer before her first year. "Very good Harry. Was it my hair colour that gave it away?"

He blushed slightly. "Sorry, guess I wasn't expecting you."

There was a knocking at the door. Harry jumped up to get it and Ginny looked around the clean room. It was so impersonal.

"So do you not go to the school that Harry goes to?" Dudley asked her. His parents shot him admonishing looks.

"I used to, now I go to school in America."

Whatever follow-up questions he had his mother put a stop to with a glare.

"Ah! So, you do have a fireplace!" Arthur Weasley stepped into the room. "Bit small though eh?"

"Dad, it's electric."

"Oh! Fascinating."

"Maybe we should get his things?" Ginny tried to indicate how unwelcome his questions would be. Apparently to no avail, as he began bombarding them with his inane questions anyway.

She rolled her eyes and turned to Harry. She seemed to be catching up to him in height, though boys had later growth spurts than girls. He was still cute though she couldn't help noticing, despite how his enormous clothes were hanging off of his skinny frame. And then she was kicking herself at the thought. "Your stuff in your room?"

"Yeah." He nodded watching uncomfortably as Mr. Weasley interacted with the Dursleys.

Ginny made her way to the stairs. "You going to help me or what?" She asked shaking her head.

"Right" He realized and caught up with her on the stairs.

Once in his room Ginny couldn't help but notice how sparsely decorated it was. She also took in the bars on the window, locks on the exterior of the door and the cat flap. Harry seemed unfazed as he reached for his trunk. "Can you… are you alright?"

He must have seen the colour drain from her face, because she could definitely feel it. The closet under the stairs had exterior locks and a slot too. He was always too skinny, and small for his age. She recalled the brief glimpse of him she'd seen right before his first year. He'd looked malnourished. "These people are horrible." She whispered.

He heard her though and stilled. "I… um." The expression on his face she couldn't quite read. Like a slew of memories were passing through his mind. Everything he'd never told anyone.

She wanted to cry for him. Instead she just moved forward and gave him a hug. He was frozen and did not return the embrace. She pulled back after a few moments. "Sorry." She sniffed back her emotions and took a deep breath. "Where's your owl?"

"Already left. Can you get my broom?" He replied with a shaky voice, though clearly grateful for a change of subject.

She nodded and reached for it. "A Firebolt?!" Ginny exclaimed.

Harry chuckled. "You didn't know?"

"Why would I know?"

"Ron and the twins? They've had a go on it." He shrugged.

"Oh, they don't tell me anything." She waved him off, then picked it up delicately. "Christ, do you never clean this?" She reprimanded him and grabbed the empty owl cage.

They headed back towards the stairs but he stopped for a moment. "Ginny. About… um." He indicated to his room.

She bit her lip. "It's your business." She fought against the feeling of tears swimming its way up to her eyes. "Come on, let's get you home."

He visibly relaxed and followed her downstairs.

"Finally! And must you make so much noise with that trunk?" The uncle sputtered.

"I could levitate it the rest of the way if you like." Ginny offered with a smirk. She couldn't have because of her age, but wanted them to be uncomfortable. The uncle clammed up. "Dad, can you get the fireplace? I feel I can barely breath in this house." She pulled a face and looked around again. Then enjoyed watching the relative's expressions as her father transfigured the electric fireplace into a proper one.

"We're Flooing?" Harry asked with an uncomfortable expression.

She laughed at him. "Yes, now repeat after me. 'The Burrow'." She teased pointing at her mouth as she said it.

He blushed a bit remembering his ill-fated trip to Diagon Alley two years previous. But he smiled back at her. She took a pinch of powder from her dad and winked at the cousin before taking off for home.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Wake up!" Hermione was standing over her dressed in the early hours before the dawn. "If you want to use the loo do it now before I wake the boys."

Harry had been there for a week by the time Hermione had showed up, and with visitors she finally got some stories about what had happened while she was away at Ilvermory. Before Harry showed up the boys would just ignore her at the dinner table and play Quidditch all day. She 'wasn't allowed' though because she 'might get hurt'.

It seemed like any year she isn't at Hogwarts the most interesting things happen. Last year that mad escapee Sirius Black from Azkaban had been constantly breaking into Hogwarts and they had a Werewolf for a teacher. But by all accounts, he was the nicest teacher they had had. Then apparently the escapee had been caught then promptly escaped again on a Hippogriff. It was all her brothers would talk about. They hadn't seemed at all interested in hearing any stories from her about Ilvermory which admittedly paled in comparison. Now it was a full house with all of her brothers' home and Ron's friends too.

She was quite miffed about that actually. Why was Ron allowed to invite two friends? Ethan would have loved to experience this! Or Neville, since he wasn't going either. There wasn't even an offer for her to bring a friend. She barely knew Hermione and now she had to share a bed with her. She seemed alright, but they hadn't ever bonded. She hadn't ever bonded with Harry either for that matter. He'd barely said two words to her, but she didn't think it was on purpose. It may have been because of what she'd noticed at the Dursley's.

And so, a three-hour hike later and one portkey they were at the Quidditch World Cup site. Ginny laughed long and hard at the sight of her three youngest brothers, Harry and Hermione splayed out on the grass after their botched landing. She herself had figured out how to land properly now.

Hermione blushed extra hard in front of the dishy guy from their school that took the portkey with them, Cedric. It took a while for them to find their tents, but after they did, she explored a bit with the twins. They found their friend Lee and she came across Luna, so she let them go off and she stayed with Luna catching up before she had to return. Luna's dad was so wonderfully weird, just like Luna. He put a crown type thing on Luna's head and danced around them making some nibbles.

"Nice crown" Ginny teased. "You would actually look proper on a throne."

"Oh, it isn't a crown. It's Ravenclaws lost diadem!" Luna said dreamily. Ginny flinched at that word and fell into one of her Tom memories.

 _They were in History of Magic class. Tom Riddle was sat right at the front. As always, he looked proper and wise. "Around the time that Ravenclaws Diadem was lost" Binns drowned on. "Speculation was that her daughter had something to do with it out of jealousy." Tom's eyes twinkled._

 ** _See, he didn't always just go on about Goblin Rebellions._** _Tom wrote._

"You just had a very interesting though." Luna brought her back.

"Yes, and I should be headed back to my family." Ginny collected herself. "Thank you for the tea Mr. Lovegood."

He smiled breezily to her and bowed low. She giggled. But walking back to her family's tent she replayed that shared vision in her head. Why would he remember that enough to share with her unless the Diadem was important to him?

She fingered the necklace pulling it out from underneath her shirt. Having it on her at all times and not having it affect her mood was a constant reminder that it was destroyed. She thought about the horcrux more intermittently now that it had been so many months later, but she still had a thought that there may be more. He had once mentioned the power of seven to her when she had honestly told him she was the youngest of seven. Ginny stood stalk still while she mulled that over. Seven pieces of his soul. She killed one, Harry may have killed another the night his parents died, she wasn't sure. She swallowed deeply at what he had needed to do to make just one.

"Ginny!" Her head snapped in the direction of the voice calling her name. It was Charlie. She beamed and stowed her necklace running to him. "Now, as I missed your birthday is there anything you want?" He smirked and she laughed shoving him lightly.

"You know I want for nothing." She joked. Their mutual Gringotts account was quite healthy. 'Gosh Wow' as the nail polish she'd invented had been called, was still very popular and Ginny really regretted the name choice. "Your continued silence is gift enough for me."

He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head as they headed back to the tent before they all had to head up to the stadium.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The ministers box. Ginny couldn't believe how lucky they were to be there. It was so easy to see everything going on in the pitch. Her seat was front row, closest to the far side of the room. Ron and Harry were playing with their binocular things. "Look! That guy is picking his nose again and again" Ron was saying.

Ginny started to laugh at him, but out of the corner of her eye she saw more people enter the box and she froze. The Malfoy's had just walked in.

'So much for enjoying the game' Ginny thought wryly. Her anger quickly over took the fear she had immediately felt. 'Fuck these guys.' The Malfoys' had turned her life upside down and chased her to the other side of the world. She wasn't going to quiver in fear surrounded by all of her brothers (less Percy anyways), and the Minister of Magic plus Harry freaking Potter!

Mr. Malfoy was shaking hands with the minister and exchanging a few words with her father. Ginny made eye contact with both of the male Malfoy's and they noticeably faltered. She smirked smugly and turned back to observe the goings on around the pitch, doing her best to ignore their looks.

Ginny took pride in knowing that she was probably ruining their time too.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The game had been awesome, and the after party had been fun too! Mostly thanks to the twins. But as the night died down and she settled to sleep beside Hermione in their tent the goings on around them just seemed to get louder and louder.

"Do you think we'll actually get any sleep tonight?" She joked to Hermione as they lay there.

"Probably not" she laughed back. "I did find the game quite entertaining. I feel sorry for the Krum boy."

"Boy?" Ginny asked. "He isn't exactly our age!"

"He can't be too much older though! Look at him, he still looks school age." She countered. "And it's just too bad that he had to catch that snitch but still lose the game." She explained. "Last year I remember the Gryffindor captain giving Harry a really hard time before our final game. We had to be 50 or so points up before he caught the snitch in order to win the Quidditch Cup. Poor Harry."

"Eh" Ginny shrugged. "I get the drive to win, but I have a hard time feeling bad for Seekers. They have one job. You know how hard it is to be a Chaser? Fighting off three other Chasers, dodging Bludgers and trying to get around the Keeper?"

"Ginny do you play at your school?"

Ginny paused. "That depends on if you can keep a secret" She smiled in the darkness.

"Don't your brothers know?" She sounded surprised.

"Charlie does. The others won't even let me on a broom. Apparently because I am female, that means that I am incapable." She answered. "I've adopted a don't ask don't tell policy." Hermione giggled.

"Then I won't tell."

"Thank you."

"Girls! Get out here!" Ginny's father shouted through the canvas. The girls scrambled out of the covers at the panic in his voice. "Death Eaters. We have to get out of here!" He rallied them together with the boys. "Fred, George, you take Ginny. Head for the woods." He turned to the other three. Bill and Charlie, it seemed had already taken off to help. "You lot head over there as well. Try to stay together!"

As her brothers took her hands and ran towards the copse of trees she glanced back and saw the flames engulfing more and more tents. They ran until they reached with perimeter of the trees and braced themselves pushing through the branches and brambles with several others. Ginny did her best to stay close to the twins, which was difficult with so many other people running through the same area in the dark. Once securely in the trees everyone settled down into a crouch.

Ginny held on to Georges shirt sleeve and listened. The screams from the campsite were awful. She hastily wiped away a terrified tear with the back of her cuff. After about five minutes her feet were killing her. The twins must have felt the same. They leaned back on a tree trunk and pulled her to settle on her bum between them. Cuddled in she felt warm. No one spoke.

What may have been hours later Ginny was roused by gasps. Startled she sat bolt upright searching around for some indication of a fire headed towards them. Seeing nothing she turned to Fred who was looking up to the sky. There was no humor in his eyes.

Through the trees she saw a green symbol, a serpent and a skull. The twins pulled her back into their embrace, as if to shield her from it, whatever it was. They were terrified.

 **AN- The plan thus far is to update the story one chapter a week until it is finished. Just so all the wonderful people who follow the story know. And I have up to Chapter 12 already written. Trying to make each one at least 5000 words long as well.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter. I only wish I did.**

 **Please note that I have borrowed some dialogue exactly from book 5, but bastardized the rest. And no, I do not follow book 5 verbatim. For example, Dumbledore is not out and out ignoring Harry. That just didn't work for me. (I always had a problem understanding why Hermione would only see her parents for one month of the year too, but she's still at the OoP anyways.)**

 **Btw, those asking if the story will be Hinny or Drinny because "That's the only thing worth reading", you are going to have to wait and see.**

 **On to the story now;**

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _It is so exciting that we will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year. Too bad you will be missing it, or that Ilvermory isn't a part of it. We have a crazy DADA teacher this year. Do you know Mad-Eye Moody? Showed us all the Unforgivable curses. Used spiders. I got quite upset about one of them. I bet you know which one._

 _He saw that I didn't take it too well and he was really nice to me after that class. Gave me a book on Magical Herbs and Fungi._

 _How's your school going? Missing you again this year. Luna's great, but you and I had more mischievous fun. You on the Quidditch team again?_

 _Neville_

 ** _Neville the plant master,_**

 ** _I am on the Quidditch team again, how could I not be? I am too great a player, they need me. Really I am doing Ilvermory a favour._**

 ** _Triwizard Tournament sounds exciting. Mom sent me an owl about it too, but I wouldn't pass up being Chaser again just to watch three people go about playing survivor._**

 ** _I am loving being back at Ilvermory. I missed it so much this summer and I am now seeing Jason. A little awkward with him being Ethan's roommate, but Ethan is seeing a girl in fourth so it hasn't interrupted the flow of our friendship. There were enough people interested in Quidditch this year that we have five teams, means more games! Please don't mention to my brothers about my playing though. I don't need them giving me a hard time about it._**

 ** _I have heard about Mad-Eye Moody, he'll be way better than Lockhart ever was!_**

 ** _Love Ginny_**

 _Dearest Ginny,_

 _How very excited everyone is about the Durmstrang and Beaubaton students being here. Remember seeing Krum at the World Cup? Well he is ever so surly in person. I suspect he had an encounter with a Crumple-Horn Snorlak in Bulgaria. They are known to be there. It was rather cold waiting for the other schools to arrive. There are a few Veela's at Beaubaton It is humorous watching the males react. Their headmistress is part giant, like Hagrid. I wonder if their children would be smaller or taller than them?_

 _Love from,_

 _Luna_

 ** _Dear Ron,_**

 ** _My friends from Hogwarts tell me you are being a complete prat to Harry. As though he had enough magical expertise to put his own name in the Goblet of Fire! Fred and George couldn't do it, how would he? Pull your head out of your ass and stop being a dick!_**

 ** _Ginny_**

 _Gin-Bug,_

 _It's too bad that you aren't at Hogwarts this year. It looks like me and a few of my friends will be making a visit over there for the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. A little angry with how they will be using my 'friends' for the tournament, but should be a great show for the spectators._

 _Have to say I don't envy Harry right now. The papers are making him out to be an attention monger. Mum isn't buying a word of it, I don't know the kid all that well, but I hope he holds up okay._

 _Congratulations on getting on the Quidditch team again._

 _You talk about this Ethan boy a lot. Anything your favourite older brother needs to know?_

 _Charlie_

 ** _Dear Mum and Dad,_**

 ** _Everything is going great here this year! I am keeping up with my studies._**

 ** _Ethan's family has invited me for the holidays again. I very much enjoy it there. They have a bunch of chores that I help out with around the Ranch. Don't worry mum, I make sure to let them know I'm grateful and I mind my manners._**

 ** _Love you,_**

 ** _Ginny_**

 _Hey Ginny,_

 _I've asked Luna to go to the Yule Ball with me. As a friend of course. But still, I'm the first guy in my dorm with a date. Hermione's told me in confidence that she's going with Victor Krum! I mean, wow! I expect you've read all about the first challenge in the papers. If not, I've attached a clipping from the Daily Prophet. It was really something to watch._

 _Schools going good._

 _Miss you,_

 _Neville_

 ** _Dear Neville and Luna,_**

 ** _Happy New Year! I had a great holiday at Ethan's family ranch again. So glad you two went to the Yule Ball together, I bet you had an amazing time._**

 ** _We won our first two Quidditch matches by the way. Don't mean to brag but I scored the majority of the goals. Ah, who am I kidding, I am bragging!_**

 ** _Missing you both, but having a lovely time._**

 ** _Ginny_**

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _I feel like we hear from you less and less every year. I am very glad that your friend Ethan and his family have taken you in during the holidays. I have to wonder if he means a little more to you than a friend?_

 _The excitement with the Tournament never ends here. Dumbledore has sent a letter asking if I and some of your brothers would come to be with Harry before the last task as his Muggle Aunt and Uncle apparently aren't interested. Shame, but I was touched that Dumbledore reached out to us. I am very excited to watch the last challenge. Harry is doing ever so well so far. Did you hear that Ron and Hermione were involved in the second challenge? In the Black Lake with Mermaids!_

 _I don't know what the third challenge is yet, but I worry for dear Harry. He is so much younger than the others, he has proven himself though!_

 _Glad your studies are going so well. So proud of you and your maintaining the scholarship_

 _Love you,_

 _Mom_

 ** _Dear Ethan,_**

 ** _Everything is Fucked._**

 ** _My brothers are all super on edge, and one of them has completely buggered off. He doesn't believe that the evil bastard I told you about is back. Why would Harry Potter make that up? Apparently I don't get to stay at my own house much this summer. Only the first week. We are all being carted off to some undisclosed location to 'help prepare the resistance'. Means cleaning._**

 ** _Counting the days until I am back at Ilvermory. I don't know that I'll get to send you another owl this summer if we're in hiding, so just keep re-reading this one :)_**

 ** _Ginny_**

 ** _()()()()()()()()()()()_**

 ** _Hey Harry,_**

 ** _Dumbledore just came for a visit. That was weird. He's apparently going around to all of your friends and asking that they not divulge certain information. That must make you feel wonderful. I can only imagine how happy that would make me._**

 ** _You basically get tortured all last year, watch someone die and Voldemort come back to life right in front of you, but do you deserve to know that there is a resistance banding trying to formulate a way to take the evil bastard down? Apparently not._**

 ** _Hermione, Ron, the twins, hell, even 'Snuffles' have this never waivering faith in your Headmaster, I on the other hand have some questions in regards to his senility. This is why I am writing you._**

 ** _I wanted you to know that there is a plan to save you from the Muggles, and people believe you. Me included. The papers are crap, everybody knows that. But people are fallible, I heard about the chaos with Rita Skeeter._**

 ** _By the way, Snuffles is really cool. We'll probably see you around your birthday._**

 ** _Ginny_**

"Draco, we have to talk." Lucius Malfoy has swept into the cold dark library in Malfoy Manor where his fifteen-year-old son was reclined on a chaise longue with an Arithmancy book. The swift appearance of his father had startled him, however he hadn't made any outward impression of that. Since his third year he'd been forced to moderate his mannerisms. Appear more controlled.

The slow and intentional reactions do actually allow for more time to think things through. Formulate the best approach to the situation put before you. His companions at school had grown steadily more weary and in awe of him because of this. It made him feel more powerful. Lucius stood by the fireplace scrutinizing his son's demeanor.

As always, the older Malfoy looked immaculate. "The Dark Lord has returned. The Potter boy did not lie."

Draco could not control his expression at that. Dumbfounded, his jaw slackened and eyes went wide. "But.. That… That was weeks ago! Why are you telling me this now?" Draco narrowed his eyes. There had to be a reason. Lucius always had a reason.

"Other students in your house will know. You must be prepared for that." The older man took a deep breath. "Things will begin to happen. The Dark Lord is not happy with me. You must act like you are in allegiance with him, without letting people know you are in allegiance with him." Looking him over again. "How have your Occlumency studies been going?"

Just the word Occlumency made Draco's head hurt. "I've been managing." As he spoke, he felt his father poking around in his head and put up his wall. It was feeble, but it was getting stronger.

"Keep working at it."

"Are you… Are we. Not." Draco paused. Not knowing the best course of action to ask if they were in line with Voldemort.

Lucius moved towards his son and took up in the armchair opposite him. "With his return comes the questionable safety of my family. When the Dark Lord is angry with you there is always the chance that he will express that in an unfavorable way."

Draco felt the need to throw up, but he suppressed it with all he had. Something clicked in his brain. "The book?"

Lucius nodded slowly. Two years previously his father had let him in on his mistake. Only he didn't call it that. He had given some kind of book to the Weasley girl and she'd vanished with it, which was certainly not his intention. Exactly what supposed to have happened with the book was not divulged to him, but upon Draco's third year he was tasked with trying to retrieve it. A difficult task in itself, made even harder by the fact that she no longer attended Hogwarts. It had taken him a few weeks to find out where she'd gone off to.

He couldn't help but be impressed with her. She must have known what the book was. He'd seen her on the platform before his third year. The brief look they'd shared told him that much. He'd scoured the train for her after they'd left Kings Cross, but didn't see her again until the next year at the Quidditch World Cup.

He remembered perfectly feeling his father's shock reflecting his own when they saw her smirk at them. They could hardly enjoy the game through their distraction. Even when the teams came into the box, she never looked back at them again though. He and his mother had been sent home immediately after the game.

The next day when he read the Daily Prophet he knew the Death Eater attack was just part of his father's scheme to get the book back. He'd been certain that if she'd truly known what it was she wouldn't have let it far from her site.

Draco had incessantly questioned his father about what the book was, or what if it was transfigured. Lucius had not caved, except to say that there was no way for it to be transfigured. Lucius had been unsuccessful in retrieving the book.

So far this summer though his father had been very on edge. Not even allowing him to go to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies. If the Malfoy grounds hadn't been so vast Draco would have gone stir crazy. "So, the book belongs to Him." Lucius nodded. "Does he know who has it?"

"No." Lucius closed his eyes. "He still believes me to be in possession of the book, and that is why you need to keep up with your Occlumency lessons."

Draco had the sudden image of the Weasley girl under the Cruciatus curse and fought the urge to throw-up again. "What can we possibly do to get it back? You've already tried going to Ilvermory and couldn't find it. Would it be at their home?" Despite the outward perception, his father wasn't actually so evil. Just… selfish maybe?

He put his family first and had confided in Draco that giving the girl the book was a move to get Arthur Weasley in trouble, but when that hadn't happened, he though for certain that events would be occurring at Hogwarts. He'd been wrong on both accounts. "I have a… friend at the Transportation Department at the Ministry. I will be speaking to the girl without her family before she begins school again."

"And then you will give it back to him?"

Lucius stood. "And then I will find a way to destroy it." He swept out of the room.

Draco let that sink in. His father had outright told him they were not bind followers of Voldemort. There was no other way to translate that. They were now playing a part and Draco had to be very careful from here on out.

()()()()()()()()()()()

Harry was hanging out under the bushes in the garden again. The news was on. Between the hours of two and four Aunt Petunia had her soap operas, any other time of the day the television was set to the news program. His Aunt had to know what was going on immediately. If it was anything that might be of interest she would rush over and discuss it with the neighbors over the hedges.

Harry listened very carefully for something that would tell him what the Death Eaters were up to. He was beginning to feel a little paranoid. If a pedestrian got hit by a car he would wonder if it was actually a pedestrian, or was it someone that was side-Apparated with the intents and purpose of them getting hit by a car. If a gas leak led to an explosion in Suffolk, was it actually a gas leak or did someone use the Reducto curse to explode a house full of enemy's? And on, and on.

Harry lay there with his eye's closed listening until his aunt came out to water the bushes and wound up drenching him. Then shooed him out of the garden.

He went down to the play ground area and had his hand in his pocket. Ginny's letter was in there. He had read it over and over again. Every day when he woke up and every night before he went back to sleep.

His nightmares of Cedric dying and graveyards were made less horrifying by the number of people he knew that would appear simply saying "We believe you".

Harry made his way down Privet Drive to Magnolia Crescent and was almost at the park when he saw his cousin Dudley bidding farewell to his friends. It was a chorus of 'Bye Big D' and 'See you later Big D.' Harry snorted.

"Hey Big D." He called out. Dudley turned around and saw him.

"Oh, it's you."

"How long have you been Big D then?" Harry teased.

"Shut it."

"Cool name, but you'll always be ickle Diddykins to me." Harry grinned.

"I said SHUT IT." Dudley yelled at him.

"Don't the boys know what your mum calls you?"

"Shut your face."

"You don't tell _her_ to shut her face. What about Popkins or Dinky Diddydums, can I use them?" He was enjoying getting him worked up. He'd been Dudley's punching bag for the first ten years he was forced to live with the Dursleys, it was nice to have Dudley a little afraid of him now. "So who've you been beating up tonight? Another ten year-old? I know you did Mark Evans two nights ago."

"He was asking for it."

"Oh yeah?"

"He cheeked me."

"Yeah? Did he say you look like a pig that's been taught to walk on its hind legs? Because that's not cheek, Dud, that's true." Harry recalled the memory of Hagrid giving him a curly tail four years earlier.

They turned down the alleyway that was the short cut home.

"Think you're a big man carrying that thing don't you?" Dudley said.

Harry fingered his wand. "What thing?" He asked innocently.

"That-that thing that you're hiding."

"Not as stupid as you look are you, Dud? But I suppose if you were you wouldn't be able to walk and talk at the same time." Harry grinned pulling out his wand.

"You're not allowed. I know you're not. You'd get kicked out of that freak school you go to."

"How do you know they haven't changed the rules, Big D?"

"They haven't." Dudley sounded a little less confident. Then Dudley gave an odd, shuddering gasp, as though he had been doused with icy water.

Harry felt it too. The familiar dreadful feeling of Dementors nearby.

"W-what are you doing? Stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything. Shut up and don't move!"

Dudley was scrambling away from him, towards the Dementor that appeared at the alley's exit. "I'll tell Dad!" He was blindly grasping his way along the wall getting closer to it.

"Dudley no! Stop! You're headed straight for it."

Harry felt another icy cold sensation on the back of his neck and turned around. There was another one right behind him. He quickly pointed his want at it. 'We believe you' echoed in his head. "Expecto Patronum" His stag patronus shot forth and charged at the Dementor nearest him and caught it with its antlers, then rounded on the one that was closest to Dudley. That Dementor too was thrown up into the air and soared away when hit with the stag's antlers.

Harry ran to Dudley, he was shaking and frozen to the spot. Harry searched the sky to see if he could find any more that were headed their way. He recalled the stag. He put Dudley's arm over his shoulder and tried to direct him towards Privet Drive.

Mrs. Figg, his batty neighbor came panting around the corner, and Harry quickly put his wand away.

"Don't put it away, idiot boy!" She shrieked. "What if there are more of them around? I am going to _kill_ Mundungus Fletcher!"

()()()()()()()()()

'I've just been attacked by Dementors and I may have been expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm getting out of here.' Harry thought as he lay in bed.

He couldn't believe it. All this time, Mrs. Figg had been a Squib who knew exactly who he was. She'd been charged with watching over him his whole life. She'd known he was being mistreated by the Dursleys, which meant that Dumbledore had known he was being mistreated by the Dursleys. And he hadn't done anything.

Hedwig had finally returned from her hunt for food and he'd sent her out right away with letters for Sirius, Ron and Hermione. He had to know what was going on. Why had no one else gotten in contact with him since Arthur Weasleys Owl demanding that he stay at his aunt and uncles house after the Dementor incident?

For four days he'd been locked in his room receiving meals from his aunt through the cat flap. His only solace was reading and re-reading Ginny's letter. He pretended that he had just received it, and he would be rescued within the hour.

Harry heard the loud stomps of Uncle Vernon's stocky feet tramping over to his room. "We're going out." He said.

"Sorry?"

"We- that is to say, your aunt, Dudley and I, are going out."

"Fine."

"You are not to leave your bedroom while we are away."

"Okay."

"You are not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions."

"Right"

"You are not to steal food from the fridge."

"Okay."

"I am going to lock your door."

"You do that." Harry rolled his eyes. Like it made a difference. Harry hadn't left his room except to use the facilities since the incident.

He heard them leave the house, and the distinct sound of three car doors slamming. Harry lay there staring at the ceiling. At some point he must have drifted off to sleep. Then he heard a crash from the kitchen and was wide awake.

He listened carefully and made out several footsteps. They were leaving the kitchen and heading up the stairs. He bolted to grab his wand from his nightstand. He crouched by the dresser in an attempt to hide himself, he'd just squatted down when the door to his room flew open.

"Lower your wand boy, before you take someone's eye out." Mad-Eye Moody growled. Behind him Harry could see Professor Lupin and a few other people he did not know.

He'd been rescued. He smiled at them.

()()()()()()()()

Flying had been such a release. By the time he was seated in the kitchen in Grimmauld Place, the Order of the Phoenix headquarters with Sirius, Hermione, and almost all the Weasleys he'd almost forgotten to be angry with them for their lack of communication.

Almost.

Then Dumbledore showed up. And it all came back. He came into the kitchen and smiled softly at Harry. Harry scowled back at him

"You've been having me watched for years and you couldn't bother to tell me?"

"I did what I thought was best."

"And what you thought was best was to make me think that I'd been alone all summer with no contact from my friends? Why did you tell them not to owl me? Why didn't I hear from anyone until after I had to chase off Dementors from kissing my cousin?"

"It was most unfortunate that that happened Harry. That was why I was having a guard on you. Mundungus Fletcher shouldn't have abandoned his post, you should have had to deal with that."

"Well I'm glad he abandoned his post, otherwise I may still be stuck there thinking my best friends couldn't be bothered. You know, if I hadn't gotten that letter from Ginny at the beginning of the summer then I may not have been able to conjure a Patronus?!"

"Letter from Ginny?" Dumbledore exchanged a look with Mrs. Weasley who looked dumbfounded.

She went to the door of the kitchen in an instant and hollered up the stairs her only daughters name.

 **A/N- Shorter than the other chapters. But we are delving more into the boys side of things now. Just wait until the next chapter. Shit is about to get very interesting. Like, into the M rating interesting. *wink. Until next week.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, I just think about him in the shower some times ;)**

"Ginny!" The screech came from the base of the stairs. Mrs. Blacks portrait followed it. Ginny sighed. She'd been cleaning this stupid room for ages and had just sat down. Whatever it was that she was about to get in trouble for, she knew it couldn't wait. No one would yell in the hallway if it wasn't an emergency, and she knew her mother's tones.

She slowly stood up and made her way down the stairs of the darkened halls. Everyone else in the house seemed to be congregated in the kitchen. 'Good to know they're all pulling their weight too.' She thought darkly. Her brothers, parents, Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, Snape and the newly arrived Harry were all seated around the large table.

"You bellowed?" Ginny looked to her mum.

"Ginny." Dumbledore got her attention. "Did you send Harry a letter?"

Ginny smirked inwardly. She had expected to get in trouble for this eventually and she'd prepared her defense. Looking briefly at Harry, who seemed to be outwardly irritated, but it wasn't towards her. His eyes conveyed an apology to her. Everyone else at the table, they are sat looking at her angrily. "Yeah, I did." Ginny shrugged. "Though he might have appreciated it. Was I wrong?" She asked Harry.

"No, I did appreciate it. Really" his body relaxed some. "I wish other people would have thought to do the same." His teeth clenched as he looked around the table.

"Ms. Weasley, I had expressly asked everyone not to write him for a very good reason." Dumbledore took charge of the conversation. "Why did you go against my wishes?"

Ginny studied him for a second. He seemed to be struggling to control his agitation. "I didn't."

Everyone now looked confused. "How do you figure that?"

"I remember exactly what you said." She paused. "Do you?"

"Yes. I asked that all of Harry's friends refrain from communicating with him about any of the goings on."

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

"Exactly, I didn't disobey your wishes."

They all looked even more confused. Even Harry who looked to be silently mouthing the letter for the loophole. "You claimed to not have told him the approximate date of our retrieving him? Or that there is a resistance forming?"

"Oh no, I told him that."

"Then what?" Ron pipped up.

"You didn't want any of his _friends_ telling him. And none of them did." She caught Snape's smirk before it wiped off his face. Sirius looked a little gleeful though. "I am not friends with Harry." She explained slowly.

Everyone's jaws dropped, besides Dumbledore, Snape and Sirius' anyways.

There was silence until "You don't think we're friends?" Harry asked.

Ginny wanted to snigger, but controlled herself. "No, you barely know me." She pointed out. "I am just your best friends' little sister."

"I know you!" Harry defended with a hint of a question in his voice.

"Really?" She smiled sweetly. "Let's see if you can prove it then." She took the closest seat and stared straight at him. "I have three best friends. Name any one of them."

"Erm.."

She shook her head lightly, knowing he wouldn't guess. "Your birthday is July 31st, when's mine?"

"Umm"

"Ginny, really!" Her mother warned her.

Ginny smiled widely now. "One last question I promise. And if you get this one I will throw myself at Dumbledore's mercy for defying him." She inclined her head to Dumbledore. "Should be real easy for anyone who _knows me_." She paused for dramatic effect and looked deep into Harry's eyes. "What's. My. Name?"

Harry looked confused. "What?"

"My name Harry. What is Ginny short for?" She clarified, still smiling.

"V-Virginia?"

Ginny took her eyes off Harry and moved them to Dumbledore. "Semantics and vocabulary are important." She stood up. "I'm going back up to clean more, if you need me for anything else." She didn't wait for an answer, she just left them all, knowing she would still be punished with something later.

()()()()()()()()()

It was like he was seeing her for the first time. He'd seen her every summer since he was twelve, but she was always just kind of there at the Burrow, in the background. One of a sea of red heads, then she was gone to the American school. Thinking back to his second year he couldn't ever recall talking to her when she was at Hogwarts. He had no answers to any of her three questions. They really weren't friends.

She also happened to be the only person who'd seen and realized how he'd been mistreated by the Dursleys. He had just tucked that thought away after he got back to the Burrow the previous summer and never reflected on it again.

They weren't friends and she had used that loophole to remove a huge weight from his shoulders. Her letter had given him hope this past month. If he hadn't had it on him when the Dementors descended would he have been able to think of something happy to fight them off?

He watched her retreating form dumbfounded as she exited the kitchen. Looking around the table everyone was just as flabbergasted as he was.

Dumbledore was the first to speak. "She certainly was a Ravenclaw."

"I apologize for my daughter Albus." Mrs. Weasley said. He simply raised one hand to waive it off.

"Don't apologize for her being clever. Clearly it did Harry a world of good." He then turned to Harry. "Perhaps I was too hasty with my order."

Harry had no reply. He simply clenched his jaw and stood to leave. Ron didn't meet his eye. So, Harry went to cool off before he would go in search of Ginny.

()()()()()()()

It was an hour later that the door to the room opened that Ginny had resumed cleaning. Clearing all of the clutter off the shelves as Harry stepped over to her. "Ginevra." Was all he said as he leaned his back against the wall.

"Very good Harry. Which isn't short for anything." She smiled. They stood staring at each other. He looked tired, bags under his eyes and his baggy clothes gave him an emaciated look. She wondered if his Muggle relatives did actually just slip him scraps of food through his cat-flap at irregular intervals. "Am I in a lot of trouble?"

Harry couldn't help but notice her now. And he was uncomfortable with what he was noticing. Like how even in the dim light her brown eyes were so inviting. How her hair fell just right and how when she had that cocky determined smirk on her it gave her a dimple on one cheek. Also her bottom lip was so full and tempting.

"No." He replied quietly, trying to shake his thoughts. "Dumbledore actually more or less said you had proved your point rather effectively." At that admission his hand went to rub the back of his neck. "Look, your letter meant a lot to me. I was going crazy at my relatives, and with almost no contact from anyone, and the contact I did have wasn't telling me anything. Well. I, I want to be your friend. I'm sorry I had assumed you were." He shifted. "But you're right. I don't know you at all."

Ginny was still looking at his face with a box on her hip and a smirk. "Well I don't think I'll be able to pull that one over on Dumbledore again, so I don't see why not." She joked.

Harry smiled and met her eyes. His smile didn't quite match his expression though. Ginny let out an exasperated sigh and put her box of crap on the floor before giving Harry a hug. Tightening her arms around him she felt how tense he was. "Harry. This is called a hug. What you are supposed to do now is hug me back and relax." Her whole front was pressed up against him, and it felt really nice. His brain had shut off.

He chuckled softly and relaxing in to the hug.

She pulled back after a few moments. "Now then, do you have more Order stuff to do or can you grab a box and help me with all this crap?"

"Order stuff." He sighed. "Hopefully I can get some answers, and find out what is going to happen with the ministry and the Dementors."

"What?" she said surprised.

Harry looked her over. "They didn't tell you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and continued clearing shelves with annoyance. "They tell me nothing. I am just an innocent little girl." She made a show of putting on a necklace she'd found in a prissy way and twirling the chain around her finger.

"Good to know I'm not the only one they've been hiding things from." He managed as he watched her play with the locket necklace his eyes were drawn to her chest. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to check himself. She was only maybe just fourteen and already she was filling out. He could only imagine what her body would look like in a few years. Mentally he gave himself a shake as he felt a tightness in his groin. 'This is Ron's sister! Danger! Do not think that way about her body!"

"Yes, but now you get to go back downstairs and find out. So, shoo." She gave him a light shove towards the door. "And then you can come back and fill me in."

He wanted to groan at the thought of 'filling her in'. But then she turned around and bent over. He swallowed hard. She had a really nice ass. He managed to compose himself. Harry smiled this time and it did reach his eyes. He paused at the door. "August 5th?"

"Nope." She smiled at his guess of her birthday.

()()()()()()()()()

Harry headed for the bathroom before heading back downstairs. Surely this was just because he was in proximity to a girl his own age. Teenage hormones and what not. Though he didn't think about Hermione like that. Hermione was her own style of pretty, but she didn't make his brain go in overdrive, even when he hugged her.

Harry locked the bathroom door and turned on the shower. He pulled up an image of Cho Chang in his mind as he stepped in. Cho was a safe attraction. He needed a wank. Fifteen years-old and he hadn't had a wank in ages. It wasn't healthy. He couldn't do that at the Dursleys. He hadn't done it since before the last task. That was all the problem was.

He pictured Cho coming to him in the locker rooms after Quidditch practice, surprising him in the shower. Stripping off her clothes. Harry sighed. It had been a reliable fantasy last year. Now it wasn't cutting it. He continued to palm himself, but that image was actually making him go soft.

Forcing his mind to keep pulling up the locker room scenario, now he pictured a pale hand running over his shoulders and a sweet voice close to his ear. "Bet I could do that better." The voice said as her breath tickled his ear. Harry started pumping his now completely hard cock faster. He imagined her joining him naked in the shower, pressing her body against his back while she ran her hands up and down his side, creeping lower and lower.

He licked and bit his lip as he stroked faster. She would start kissing his neck as she took over placing her hand over top of his matching his rhythm. He felt the familiar tightening sensation in his balls. "What's my name Harry?" she whispered.

"Ginevra" he groaned as he came. The fantasy faded away and he slowed his stroking. "Oh shit" he said out loud to himself and leaned his forehead against the cool tile. This can't happen.

()()()()()()()()()

It was three hours later that Ginny made her way back to the basement kitchen about to fall over from hunger. "Ginny! You can't be in here." Her mom scolded.

Ginny couldn't stop her eyes from narrowing as her lips curled into a sneer. "Then maybe you shouldn't congregate in the kitchen. Some of us have been doing manual labor." She bit viciously.

"You're in a right mood!" One of the twins said off-handedly. Ginny's temper didn't allow her any interest in checking which twin had spoken. She just growled and grabbed a sandwich.

She'd been getting more and more worked up all day. Owning it to her being the only person in the house not in the kitchen, getting treated like a little child and being completely caked in dust. Now she was hungry to boot. If she didn't eat now rage was sure to set in. Her mother put a hand on her arm as Ginny turned to leave.

"We will talk about what you did later."

Ginny slowly raised her glaring eyes up to stare daggers at her mother. "Looking forward to it." She snarled slowly.

In a bit of shock her mum released her hold and Ginny stalked out of the room. She devoured her sandwich on the way to the bathroom. A full stomach didn't squelch the empty feeling in her belly, maybe a shower would.

Locking the door, she turned on the shower to let it get hot while she stripped down. Almost fourteen now she was tall for a girl, but she was developing nicely. She'd been embarrassed when her monthly visitor started arriving, but Megan was a big help with that and talked her through it openly. Sometimes having sisters comes in handy. She also took her shopping for proper bra's. Normally that memory made her laugh inside. She wasn't laughing now.

She was still furious. She saw she was still wearing that necklace from earlier. An ugly locket with a crest on it. She scowled at it looking at herself in the mirror and took it off, placing it beside the sink. She was still wearing the golden book pendant. That one she never took off. As soon as the other necklace was off and she stepped towards the shower she felt instantly relieved.

Ginny froze with one hand on the shower curtain. It had been two and a half years since she'd felt that kind of instantaneous relief. Slowly she turned back to look at the locket. "It couldn't be" she padded slowly back to where the necklace lay on the marble counter. She examined the locket. A faint green S at the center with runes around it. Ice flowed through her veins. "S as in Slytherin?" She stood there naked and in terror. Ginny backed away from it and into the shower. She sank to the floor in the porcelain bath.

Tom had made more than one. Odds are then that he had made six total, splitting himself into seven pieces. She pulled on her gold chain with the small book shaped pendant. She sat there staring at it for several moments until her mind wandered back to her trunk in her room.

They hadn't known if they would go back to the Burrow at all, so all of her school things were here in the house. Which meant that the Basilisk venom was here too.

For a few moments all she could do was sit on the floor of the bath and cry. 'Why me? Why did I get the diary, why did I find that locket? Why did stupid Tom have to try to be immortal? Voldemort is a dumb name. I hate that bastard and he's going to rot in hell.' All that and more was pouring through her mind.

Resolved to destroy it the same way she did the book she grabbed the bar of soap and quickly cleaned herself. After drying off and wrapping a towel around her she delicately picked up the locket and put it between her bundle of clothes.

No one was between her and her room thankfully. She locked the door. This room she was in was dark and depressing, like the rest of the house, but it was almost triple the size of her dorm with a four-poster king sized bed, her trunk lay at the foot of the bed.

She placed her bundle on the edge of the bed and retrieved her cauldron and the venom. She wouldn't be able to transfigure and charm this one until back at Ilvermory, or until she stole one of the twin's wands. George's worked pretty well for her. He was good at Charms. But a destroyed horcrux was better than a whole one.

Ginny tried to open the locket, but it wouldn't give. She gently placed the locket into the cauldron and pulled the tear dropper cap off the phial. Two drops. Nothing. Four drops. Nothing.

She peered into the cauldron. This didn't happen last time. She stoppered the phial again. Even if it was a regular locket something would have happened. It would have melted a little or something. 'Maybe it _has_ to be opened?' She thought.

If the S did in fact stand for Slytherin and Tom and Salazar spoke Parseltongue then it would most likely be that she had to tell it to open in the snake language. She reached into the recesses of her mind for when Tom had shown her a memory of him using the language. He had been much younger, and there were three little garter snakes that had come over to him. It sounded like hissing and spitting, but they hissed and spat back.

With a deep breath she sat cross legged right up to her cauldron and started trying to imitate the sounds that she had heard. She had the dropper poised ready to drop the venom. She heard a tink of metal on metal before opening her eyes and seeing the shadowy form of Tom Riddle appear before her. He was a silhouette of his diary memories with an angered expression. Still in his Hogwarts uniform. Ginny's scream lodged in her throat. "I am so very disappointed in you Ginny." Shadow Tom said. A hole then shone through his chest. They both looked down at it.

In her shock Ginny had inadvertently squeezed a drop of the venom out and into the locket. Ginny couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her face. "Good-bye Tom." She said steadily as she emptied the rest of the drops into the open locket.

Shadow Tom screamed in agony as he disappeared. Acting quickly Ginny added more venom to the dropper and for good measure added another five drops into the locket. Tom's scream had been loud enough for someone to hear. She shoved the cauldron under the bed and arranged the blanket to hide it until she could snag George's wand tonight.

There was a short knock at the door before her mother unlocked the door and came in. "What was that?" she demanded.

"Sorry! Sorry! I stubbed my toe really hard and it hurt." Ginny lied.

Molly Weasley looked angry. Jaw clenched, hands on her hips she glowered at her daughter. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Ginny blinked at her. "About what?"

"Your behavior a few minutes ago in the kitchen."

'Was that just a few minutes ago?' Ginny thought to herself. The horcrux had made her quite rude with them, but a huge event had happened between then and now, so her timeline seemed off. She hung her head and heaved a sigh, getting ready for her lie. "I was really hungry and gross from all the work I was doing." She bit her lip and moved towards the dresser to grab some clothes.

Her mother stepped more into the room and closed the door. "I know that isn't everything." She pressed further. Ginny caught her eye. "I know you want to be part of the Order, but you are too young."

"Mum, I would really prefer you blame it on my not being in the country for ten months of the year, not my age." Ginny teased her as she pulled on a shirt. She smiled with relief that she heard no further argument. "I really am sorry. I was irrational. About the most recent incident in the kitchen." She clarified. "I still stand by sending Harry that letter." Her mother's hands were back on her hips. 'Here we go' thought Ginny.

"You really were a Ravenclaw weren't you." Ginny beamed at her. Her mum pulled her into a hug. "Please don't look for loopholes in your future orders? Dumbledore does all this for a reason." Ginny hugged her back tighter in response.

She didn't want to lie and agree that she wouldn't, because she had her own mind and right was right. Withholding information from Harry and making him miserable was wrong. Everyone knew it, Dumbledore knew it. She was the only one that acted on it.

()()()()()()()()()()()

The next few weeks together were a mix of pleasure and pain for Harry after he'd been cleared of charges with the Dementors. Forget the vivid dreams he was having, they were definitely a pain, but every day he would discover something new about Ginny. She loved Quidditch, she had an amazing sense of humor, she smelled incredible, and she was so confident. He would find himself watching her out of the corner of his eye. When it seemed like no one was looking at her he saw this cute crinkle between her eyebrows, like she was working on a problem.

He'd hoped beyond hope that it might have been because she was as attracted to him as he was to her. That maybe she had to do in the shower what he did daily now, just because of him. Picturing that nearly sent him over the edge. Being around her was becoming a torture in itself.

He was spending a lot of time with Sirius too, which was also great. He would tell stories from his youth about all the mischief he would get up to with his dad and Remus. About his dad chasing after his mom. "The Potter men sure do have a thing for red heads." Sirius winked at him one night when they were alone feeding Buckbeak. "Even your grandmother was a ginger." Harry couldn't help the blush that rose to his cheeks. "She is very becoming our little Ginny, isn't she?" Sirius continued wiggling his eyebrows.

Harry sighed. "Do you think anyone else has noticed?" referring to his growing infatuation.

"Probably Hermione." Harry groaned. "And" Sirius continued. "Ginny has been watching you back quite a bit too."

Harry grinned at that. He really would have preferred that Hermione not know about this until it passed. And as he and Ginny were headed to different schools in a few days it was bound to pass. There was no way he was going to act on this. At least, that's what he thought.

But then August 31st rolled around. He was in his and Ron's room packing when the door opened and closed quietly. "Mind if I hide out in here a bit?" Ginny asked. Not waiting for an answer, she climbed into his bed and rested her head against the headboard closing her eyes.

Harry froze facing her. "Why?" He tried to sound as normal as possible.

"My brothers are giving me a hard time about boys." She huffed. "They are under the assumption that there is something between me and my best friend when there isn't." She opened her eyes just to roll them in exasperation.

"Then I am going to go ahead and assume that 'Melissa' is not your best friends name." Harry said as he continued packing with a chuckle.

She laughed. He had continued trying to guess the answer as to who her best friends were. He already knew the answer to the other two questions now. "No, my best friend is a guy. Two of the three of my best friends are."

Harry felt a twinge of jealousy. "And your brothers think you are snogging one of them."

"Yep, and it is annoying. I mean I heard about the papers insinuating something about you and Hermione last year, and they were as wrong about that as those idiot's downstairs are about this."

Harry smiled. He'd forgotten about that, but he was relieved. "So why do they think you are off snogging around Ilvermory?"

"Probably because I am, but not with Ethan." She chuckled. "Some sort of protective brotherly intuition tipped them off."

Harry spun around from his trunk and stared at her. "You are snogging someone at your school? You told Ron you don't have a boyfriend." He remembered Ron accusing her of that and he remembered being happy with her response and trying to hide his reaction.

"And I didn't lie." She smiled deviously and looked deep into Harry's eyes. "I don't currently have a boyfriend. Ron used the present tense." Harry felt his face fall. She noticed. "Harry?" She said after he stared at her silently for a moment.

"Yeah?" he blinked.

"What's with the reaction? Honestly it's just snogging." She shrugged. "Not like I was in love with the guy. And it was just one guy." She made a point of adding on.

He figured he must have looked too disappointed and she misinterpreted it towards her. "Uh…"

She cocked her head at him and drew in a breath. "You've never snogged anyone before have you?" Her eyes were wide and his face for sure he felt was matching her hair.

"Its. I've. Um." She got off the bed and walked to stand before him and took his hand.

"Sorry. I'm not trying to make fun or embarrass you. It's just. Well. It's you." She said as though that explained things. Then she bit her lip a second. "I guess you've had other things on you mind than girls though." She laughed lightly.

He closed his eyes for a second and sighed. It was embarrassing now that he thought about it. Haven't most fifteen-year-olds been kissed by then? Everyone at the Yule Ball seemed to have been kissing. Hell, even Neville said he'd kissed his date, even though he'd admitted he probably shouldn't have.

But before Harry could respond he felt her body move closer to his and her soft lips pressed gently to his. His brain had yet to process the situation when she'd pulled back. His eyes popped open.

She was smiling sweetly. "There, hope you don't mind me being your first kiss. But now there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

He let out a slow breath, trying to find the confidence to ask for more. "I thought you said snogging…" he managed to get out.

She looked a little startled at that, but her smile grew wider and she pressed herself against him again. "No big deal?" She asked.

"Right" he answered and leaned forward.

Their lips met, she felt so good against him. He'd pictured this, but wasn't prepared for the fuzzy happy feeling that grew in his head as their lips danced together. Her hand snaked up into his hair and his slipped around her back trying to pull her closer.

She moaned softly and that little sound reverberated through her lips to his and went straight to his groin. He had just enough brain function to pivot his hips away from her while he deepened the kiss. Her fingers rubbed his scalp and he groaned. He was at full mast now. That feeling of her fingers in his hair was the most wonderful sensation he could ever remember.

She pulled back breathing heavily. He opened his eyes. She was flushed and her lips were fuller now. "So" she said.

"So" he responded. She made a small throat clearing noise and made to back away, but Harry still had his arms around her. She smiled a little and licked her lips. Harry followed the movement her tongue made. He knew anyone could come into the room at any moment and he should probably let her go.

"Harry?" She asked.

His eyes went back to hers. "No big deal." He repeated to her unconvincingly. She bit her lip to hold back a laugh. He wanted to throw her on the bed and continue snogging. If vertical snogging was this good, horizontal would be incredible.

But then they both heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps on the stairs. He instinctively released his hold on her and she went back to sit far back on the bed against the headboard. He turned back to the dresser and tried not to be obvious about adjusting his erection.

Ron and Hermione burst into the room a second later. "Ginny! Why are you in here?"

"Trying to get away from you. Figured it'd be the last place you would look." She sounded so casual. Harry focused on packing and trying to get his hormones in check.

"Well get out." Ron snapped at her.

"Ron." Hermione scolded.

Ginny huffed and got up from Harry's bed to leave, punching Ron in the shoulder on her way past. "You deserved it." She stuck her tongue out at him and caught Harry's eve giving him a cheeky wink that made him blush.

Then he saw Hermione observing him and turned back to his packing. He never got another moment alone with Ginny. But unfortunately, he did get a moment alone with Hermione, when Ron popped out to use the loo. "You fancy Ginny, don't you?"

Harry said nothing for a moment. There was no point denying it. Hermione knew that much, but he was absolutely not going to talk to her about their snog session. "Doesn't matter. As of tomorrow I won't see her for a year." Hermione pursed her lips. He knew she was going to try and give him some advice or precaution. He raised his hand. "Don't. I know it is a bad idea. Ron would flip if he knew and I am sure I'll get over it."

Hermione smiled a bit. "Good"

That didn't stop him from replaying it over and over in his head all night. He didn't know if it felt that amazing no matter who you were snogging, but it had felt so natural and right that he couldn't imagine it was the same with whom ever.

()()()()()()()()

Late into the night Ginny was in the kitchen alone munching on cereal when Sirius walked in. "You're up quite late."

She shrugged. "An attempt to get on my new time zone a bit." Her portkey was set for 3 a.m. She intended to stay up until then and sleep through the Montana night in her dorm room.

"Wise" he nodded.

"And you? Why are you up?"

"Worried about Harry."

She nodded. It was easy to forget in the safety of the Order headquarters that the man she knew as Tom Riddle was out to get him. She touched her necklace and fingered her new locket style pendant. 'Two down' she though. "What kind of evil do you suppose will befall him this year?"

Sirius poured himself a cup of tea and sat down with her at the table. "I only have the worst scenarios going through my mind."

Ginny knew that eventually she would have to tell someone about the horcruxes, but how could she do that without her whole life unravelling? No one knew the whole story. Charlie knew one important detail, the Malfoys knew another, and now Tom Riddle was back.

"I've got a better way to communicate with him this year at least." Sirius brought a mirror out of his pocket. It was roughly the size of a snap shot photograph.

"What is it?" She leaned closer.

"Two-way mirror. It's how James and I used to communicate. I'm giving one to Harry this year. Floo is being watched."

Ginny shook her head. "Brilliant." She smiled. "You and James were quite the inventors."

"Not so different than the twins."

She agreed. "For sure, what the two of them create is amazing. I especially like the way they've taken Muggle magic tricks and transformed them." She laughed at the fake wands.

"They truly are inspiring."

Three a.m. came around quickly, her parents woke to bid her farewell before the portkey sucked her away. She landed in the field at Ilvermory. Now the sun was still in the sky and she sighed contently at the sight of her home away from home.

"Miss Weasley" Drawled a cold English voice behind her.

 **AN- Cliffhanger. Three guesses who it is, and the first two don't count.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer- Still don't own Harry Potter. Just playing with her story and characters.**

 **()()()()()()()()**

"Miss Weasley" Drawled a cold English voice behind her. She froze on the spot and felt a chill go down her spine.

"Mr. Malfoy" she managed shakily. Slowly she reached for her wand.

"I will not harm you." He said as he circled around to stand in front of her.

"I don't believe you."

He sighed. "If I wanted to do away with you, I wouldn't have announced myself."

"Fair point." She sized him up. "Let us cut to the chase here. You can't have it back."

His jaw clenched. "I must have it back. It is imperative."

"I destroyed it."

He took a step back. "Are you sure it is destroyed."

"Positive."

"How do you know though?" He narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Because I know what you can and can't do to a horcrux."

He sucked in a deep breath and looked her up and down. To him, she hardly looked capable, but then he knew it wasn't the size of the witch or wizard that determined their greatness. "What means did you use?"

Ginny took a moment herself to observe him. He looked curious, with a hint of desperate. "I tried many different methods to destroy it until I found one that works." She had to ask though. "He doesn't know does he? Otherwise he would probably be here himself and you would be dead."

Lucius pursed his lips. "He believes I am still in possession of it yes." He sneered.

"Well then." Ginny relaxed slightly. "I won't tell him if you don't." She made to grab her bag with all of her belongings shrunken into it.

"I must know which method worked." He placed his cane in front of her to stop her.

She searched his face hoping that she wouldn't see what she thought he might be alluding to. But she did see it. "You know of another one." She was barely audible.

He nodded slightly. "If you will not tell me I will have to take you with me to accomplish this."

She thought. Either she could give him the Basilisk venom, or she could go and destroy another horcrux with one of the evilest men she'd ever heard of. Although this evil man was trying to destroy another evil man. Did that cancel it out? "You'll have to take me with you."

He had meant for it to sound threatening and was taken aback by her offering to go with him. "I have a portkey to Diagon Alley, be back here within twenty minutes."

"I'll be back in ten." She paused before running to the school. "I will have to get back here though."

He looked back at the school. "I can have an arrangement for a few hours from now." He turned back to her. "Make haste." He snarled impatiently.

Ginny ran to her dorm room. Her legs were burning. No one would be at the school until tomorrow but the caretaker. She pulled her trunk from her bag and grabbed the phial of Basilisk venom and her hooded cloak. She could not be seen with Malfoy.

Running back to him she had made good time, then he activated the sheet of paper that was the portkey and they whirled off to Diagon Alley.

Ginny was entirely nauseous. No sleep and two portkeys were a lot. She grabbed on to his robes to steady herself. He hastily pulled her hood up. "Breath." She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

"Gringotts?" He took her elbow and guided her in. Gringotts was always open it seemed. The Goblin's worked around the clock in shifts.

Lucius made his way to the most prestigious high center at the far side of the entrance hall. "I wish to check the Lestrange vault. You will find I am currently the vault holder." He pulled paperwork from his front pocket and laid it down along with his wand.

Ginny focused on remaining still and silent by his side. The Goblin scoured and scrutinized the wand then nodded. They were led to the carts.

She'd done this ride only twice and knew it was terrifying. She also knew from Bill that the old family vaults were at the deepest crevasses. If she threw up, she told herself she would make sure to get it on Lucius Malfoy. The cart lurched forward and launched them faster and deeper round and round, through a waterfall and she was pretty sure past a dragon before stopping abruptly.

"Lestrange Vault." The Goblin announced.

Lucius cast a drying charm on them. "Thanks" she said shakily and took the hand he'd offered to assist her out of the cart. The Goblin opened the enormous vault door and a light was cast into the chamber making all of the gold glimmer.

Lucius cast a look at the Goblin. "Imperio" She widened her eyes in shock. That was an unforgivable curse. "Desperate times" was all he said at her expression.

The Goblin had a glazed look. Ginny turned back to the vault. "Which is it that you think is in here?"

"I am not sure. I just know that my sister-in-law was given something."

"I don't suppose a simple summoning charm would work?" She suggested hopefully.

He looked irritated. "How could I without knowing what it is?"

"It's a horcrux" She said with equal irritation. She rolled her eyes at him and looked at the far shelves. "There" she pointed after several minutes of silence between them. "The Hufflepuff cup."

His eyes widened. He attempted at summoning it to no avail. She made her way to it. "Careful not to touch anything. I am sure there are several cursed items in here."

Carefully still she made her way to the cup and pulled out the phial. She looked back at him. "How sure are you? If I do this it will destroy a priceless relic."

They locked eyes. "He must be destroyed. I don't care if it proves to be an incorrect assumption."

She nodded and undid the stopper dropping four drops into the cup. Black smoke billowed up. Ginny was almost relieved to see it. Ruining an important part of history for no reason was best left to evil bastards like Tom Riddle.

"Do you suppose the Trace on my wand would be in effect down here?" She worried.

"Not in this vault."

She flicked her wand at the cup and transformed it into a small goblet pendant. She looked over her shoulder. Lucius wouldn't quite be able to make out what she was doing. She unclasped her necklace and added the pendant. Three down.

She made her way back to him. "What now?"

He studied her demeanor, but asked her no questions. With a wave of his wand the Imperious curse was lifted off the Goblin and they all got back into the cart.

They had barely stepped outside of Gringotts when he took her elbow and side along apparated them. As soon as their feet were standing in the luscious grass she fell to her knees and threw-up. She had no idea where they were, but her cereal had decided it was time to see the light of day again.

Mr. Malfoy handed her a handkerchief. She thanked him and took in her surroundings.

They wound up in a well-cared for mansion house. The dawn was breaking and the colours and gorgeous brickwork reminded her of Blenhiem Palace.

"Malfoy Manor" he stated to her questioning face.

Her eyes went wide. "But… Is that a peacock?" She saw the bird strut across their path.

He ignored that question. "You need sleep and it will be a few hours until your portkey back to Ilvermory." He led her inside the impressive mansion, then guided her through a grand entry way and down a hall, through another door to a large room with a bed. "Sleep" he commanded. "You will have at least five hours until this goes off." He indicated to the handkerchief that the Goblin had given him on their way out of Gringotts. The same one she'd used to wipe the vomit off her mouth a few moments ago. "Keep it on you. I may not see you again." He cast a cleaning spell on it.

That was all he said before closing the door and stalking off.

In the back of her mind she knew she should be weary. She knew she should replay the events of the crazy last 24 hours she'd had, but at the front of her mind sleep was all she could concentrate on getting. So, with that she tucked the handkerchief into her bra where she knew it wouldn't fall out in her sleep, and fully dressed she laid down on the bed.

It was the most comfortable bed she'd ever been in and sleep was near instantaneous. It overcame her so fast that she didn't hear the door creak open shortly after when the younger Malfoy came in.

He crept up to the bed to see who it was his father had just snuck into the guest room across from his own. In the dim light of the dawn he could make out her hair colour. Her back was to him, but he knew the Weasley red instantly. 'Why?' He couldn't fathom why his father would bring her here. Or how he could have convinced her.

Death Eaters had come through the house since he'd had the talk with his father in the library so many weeks ago. He'd been terrified that You-Know-Who would wind up at the manor himself. Slowly he backed out of the room and closed the door again.

"Do I need to Obliviate you, or will you keep your mouth shut?" Lucius had been waiting in the hallway.

Draco froze "I will keep it to myself." Lucius nodded and turned to walk away. "What is she doing here?"

"Never mind that, she will be gone shortly."

"But."

Lucius stopped and turned to his son. "Your Occlumency skills are barely strong enough to keep this out with my attempts, let alone the Dark Lords. You need not know anything else until the time comes that I decide to tell you. Until then you just concentrate on keeping your nose clean and your marks up."

Draco bit his tongue. For two years he'd known she was important for some reason, but never why. None of her brothers had mentioned anything about her.

Longbottom and Loony Luna Lovegood never mentioned anything about Ginevra Weasley either, except that she was having a great time with someone named Ethan at Ilvermory.

 _Dear Luna,_

 _Well, I am back on a Quidditch team! Fireballs again. Maybe next year I will be captain. There is a good chance! Still quite upset that I didn't get to see you or Neville at all this past summer._

 _Jason and I did not get back together at the start of term. Apparently he 'fell in love' over the summer. I am happy for him actually. I really wasn't interested. I wish I could tell you exactly why without betraying someone's confidences. Let's just say, I realized he was not a very good snog._

 _Ethan was quite quick to take up with my dorm mate. Megan though?! I guess it is payback for him having to watch me snog Jason in his room. Not that I meant to have him see that!_

 _All is good here. Hope things are good with you._

 _Love, Ginny_

 ** _Hey Gin,_**

 ** _Luna showed me your letter. Sorry about you and Jason. Congrats on getting on the Quidditch team again though. Things here are… tense is putting it very lightly. The new DADA professor was assigned from the ministry of magic and we are only doing theory. I am crap at doing spells, there is no way I will pass the OWL's without practice. But she's not allowing it. All of the professors hate her. She's shadowing them to make sure they are 'strictly adhering to the curriculum as set out by the Ministry of Magic.' Harry is getting a lot of grief from some to the student body. He's in a right state. Even the prophet is giving him a hard time. At least he has some people with him now. That's better than he did before, with the tournament._**

 ** _Wish I got to see you this summer too. Maybe next summer!_**

 ** _Neville_**

 _Neville and Luna,_

 _I feel bad for you guys! Sorry to say. But really everything here is going so great and you are all stuck dealing with that awfulness._

 _I have a new boyfriend, Chris. He's nice, and apparently quite interested in me. We are on the same Quidditch team, he's also a Chaser. I found out through someone about these two-way mirrors that you can use for direct communication. I'm going to look into seeing if they work across great distances._

 _Wouldn't it be wonderful? Sometimes I feel Muggles have it so easy. At least they have telephones, we have to stick our heads in a fireplace for immediate contact. Ridiculous!_

 _Keep your chins up,_

 _Love, Ginny_

 _Dear Neville and Luna,_

 _I haven't heard from you in quite some time. I am wondering if things have gotten much worse?_

 _I went to Ethan's again for their American Thanksgiving Holiday. I suppose I will go there again for Christmas, but Chris has asked me to his as well. His family lives in California. Having a warm Christmas seems wrong though, and I would actually feel more comfortable at Ethan's. I don't expect Chris and I will last much longer. It just doesn't feel quite right._

 _Hope to hear from you soon,_

 _Love, Ginny_

 ** _Dearest Ginny,_**

 ** _The Wrakspurts are most upset. Even though there are Nargles all over the mistletoes here. Snow has fallen and glad to hear you have found a paramour. Upset the Nargles haven't kept up your interest._**

 ** _Missing you,_**

 ** _Neville and Luna_**

 ** _P.S- Have you read the Quibbler?_**

 _Dear Percy,_

 _I am getting odd letters from my friends at Hogwarts. I know you are on the outs with the family right now, but I've never done anything to you so I am hoping that you can put aside any grudges you may have with me and tell me if you know what's going on?_

 _Happy Christmas,_

 _Ginny_

 ** _Ginny,_**

 ** _It is my prerogative to behave the way I am. I am an important person at the Ministry and I cannot be associated with people who defy the Minister so brazenly. I am sorry if you are confused with your friends letters, but that has nothing to do with me. I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year._**

 ** _Percy_**

 ** _P.S- I am sorry to hear about what happened to Dad. But he really shouldn't have been in that section of the Ministry at night. Snake bite? I hear he will soon be released from 's._**

As it turned out, in the thirteen plus hours it took for Ginny to get from Missoula, Montana to Heathrow Airport, London she was so wracked with worry that she hadn't though through her next steps.

Grabbing her back pack and holding her forged passport she disembarked the plane with the other passengers. The passport had been on her from the holidays, as she, Ethan and Ethan's brother Mark had done a run up to Calgary, Canada to see a Muggle band called 'Journey' just before Christmas. Now she had to find a way to Diagon Alley.

The underground would have to do, it was much faster than a taxi or the Knight Bus and she couldn't apparate. The time passed so slowly. An hour and a half felt like an eternity, but finally she made it to the Leaky Cauldron.

It was the early hours of the morning and her stomach grumbled at the smell of bacon and coffee, but that would have to wait. She went over to the nearest fireplace and paid five knuts to get a handful of Floo Powder, but as she threw it into the fire and tried to say the name of her home but she couldn't. She didn't know what it was called. Ginny tried to pull up the name of the Order headquarters, but she couldn't remember the name of that either.

Hogwarts. That she could remember. But they didn't have a Floo channel that she knew. "Hogshead." She finally yelled stepping into the flames. It was the only name in Hogsmeade that she could pull to mind.

Tumbling out the other end she managed a nod to the barman before pulling out a dark cloak from her bag, same as the one she wore when she last destroyed a horcrux. It would hopefully make her blend in with the Hogwarts students. The freezing Scottish winds bit at her as she drudged up to the school.

The school was almost abandoned. The Great hall doors were wide open and the tables were nearly empty. Shaking her head she tried to recall how to get to the headmasters office. It had been nearly three years since she'd been here. 'Was it always this depressing looking? Were Luna and Neville here for the holidays?' she wondered.

"What are you doing here?" An angry whisper asked as a hand grabbed her elbow. She looked up to see the face of Draco Malfoy. He quickly led her up the stairs and into a disused classroom. "Well?" He demanded of her after the door was shut.

Ginny was too tired, she tried to find the correct words as she took him in. "Why do you care?" was all she could come up with. He had grown. Fifteen and at least 5"11 his blond hair fell to his eyes and his narrow face that she remembered had widened. He wasn't unattractive.

His jaw clenched at her response. He took a few steps towards her so that they were nose to nose. "I care because I know okay? You being at Ilvermory is safer for everyone."

Ginny was so tired. She closed her eyes and couldn't help the giggle. "I hardly thing I am that important." She opened her eyes again and saw him studying her face. He took her chin and tilted her face up concern flashed in his eyes. She doubted his father had actually shared that information with him.

"Fine." He said finally. "You are safer at Ilvermory because He can't know about what you've done."

She sobered up at that. "My father has been attacked. I need to find my family and can't remember where my home is… or the other place he might be."

"Fidelus?"

She nodded. "Is, are there any teachers here? Or Dumbledore?" She almost asked for Snape, but that would potentially spell trouble. Though the Malfoy's and the Weasley's are working towards the same end result, she was the only Weasley that knew that and couldn't give Snape away.

"No, only Umbridge and Filch."

"Who?"

"Evil Ministry cow."

"And I don't suppose any of my brothers are around?"

"No. They left with the rest of the school for holidays."

"Why didn't you?" She was curious.

He shrugged and stepped away from her. "I prefer this evil to the one at home."

Ginny's eyes widened knowing what he was implying. He looked sad for the briefest of moments. "Did any Gryffindors stay?"

"Yes. A few… not Potter though if that's what you're thinking." She shook her head knowing that he would have gone with her brothers. "Or Longbottom." She was shocked. "Neither he nor Lovegood stayed."

She couldn't help the smile that came to her face. "You know who my friends are?" She cocked her head a bit. Draco looked taken aback. She shook her head to disregard the question. "Never mind." Behind Draco she saw a mirror. 'Ugh, I look awful' she though, then a lightbulb went off. "Mirror! I have an idea. Hopefully you won't see me again soon."

On instinct she hugged him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before pulling back. He stood stiffly with shock. Her face fell slightly. "Oh, sorry. Habit I guess." She made for the door. "Thanks Draco." Ginny called back as she left.

The idea of finding the Gryffindor common room was much easier than the headmasters office. As luck would have it a student was going through the Portrait hole as she approached. She pushed past them and ran into the common room. She recognized one of the boys from Neville's year.

"Hey you." She called his attention. "Want to take me to your dorm room?"

His jaw dropped. "Yeah!" he said enthusiastically. Ginny's brow creased and then she realized how that must have sounded.

"Uh, that's. That wasn't exactly. Ugh. Let's go."

He hopped up and led the way, glancing back to make sure she was following. 'What was his name again?' Ginny wondered. 'Dean? No. That was the other boy. Sean? Seamus!'

Seamus led her into a dorm room with five beds. She checked all the trunks at the foot of the beds. One had a Cannons sticker, one had N.L., one had a football and the fourth one she looked at had H.P. on it. Bingo!

She lunged for it. "Hey!" Seamus said. "You can't just use me to get some souvenir from Harry Potter!"

Ginny let out a snigger as she sifted through Harry's trunk, praying he'd left it behind. "Seamus if I wanted a souvenir from Harry I've had plenty of opportunities to knick his pants. Yes!" she exclaimed as she found the mirror that Sirius had given Harry. It was still wrapped up as though it had never been opened. 'Strange.'

She ripped off the wrappings. 'Prongs' was engraved across the top. "Padfoot" she yelled into it.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Seamus demanded.

She ignored him. "Padfoot" she yelled again desperately into her reflection. Suddenly it wasn't her reflection any more.

"Ginny?!" She beamed at Sirius' incredulous expression.

"What's going on?" Seamus asked.

"Shush you." She said to him and turned back to the mirror. "Is my family there?"

"Yes, nearly all of them. But.. where are you? Why do you have the mirror?"

"I'm at Hogwarts. I can't remember how to get there. Or home. I remembered Hogwarts, and I remembered this. I'm in Harry's dorm. On his bed actually." She laughed. Sirius blinked at her. He seemed to be at a loss for words, and so many more questions were at the tip of his tongue. "My dad.." She chocked.

"He's here. He's okay. Recovering."

"How can I get to you?"

"Who are you?" Seamus asked again loudly.

She growled. "Ginny Weasley! Now shut up."

Sirius barked a laugh. "You know who Snivilus is?" She nodded. "He's here. Get to where you'd normally find him and he'll get you here."

Relief flooded through her. "Thank you!" she pocketed the mirror and ran from the dorm room. Pulling up her hood she barreled through the common room.

The castle really was almost abandoned. All she saw as she ran to the dungeons was ghosts and portraits. She shouldered her way through the potions door as the door to Snape's office opened.

She beamed at the sight of him. He looked thrown at that expression being there solely for the sight of him. He held up a hand to stop her. She had almost hugged him too. They stared at each other for a moment. "We are going to Number 12 Grimmauld Place." And he led her into the office. She actually skipped forward and grabbed Floo powder, threw it into the fireplace and shouted the location.

On the other side of the grate she was greeted by five Weasleys, one Black, one Potter and a Dumbledore.

"Ginevra Weasley what are you thinking?" Her mother screeched.

Ginny felt Snape come in behind her and her eyes found her fathers. "Dad" she said breathlessly. He looked awful. He was bandaged and pale in a wheel chair.

"Ginevra!" Her mother demanded.

She rounded on her. "I am thinking that I'm exhausted. I'm starving. I've tackled automobiles, planes, trains, Floo and a marathon of staircases to get to see my father who no one in this room though to inform me of his condition. I had to find out through PERCY." Ginny yelled. She stepped to her fathers side and hugged him, ignoring her mothers startled gaze. "Is this hurting you?" she whispered to him.

"Worth it Gin-Bug." He patted her arm.

She sighed and stood back up. "Do Charlie and Bill know?" She asked her mother.

"Yes." She almost whispered back.

Ginny willed back her tears. "So. Just me you couldn't be bothered with then." She growled before grabbing a croissant from the table and stalking to the door.

"Miss Weasley." Dumbledore spoke.

"I need a shower and sleep. Can we continue this later when I'm not about to fall over?" She didn't wait for a response. She devoured the pastry on the way to the bathroom.

After a quick hot shower, she wrapped a towel around herself, gathered her things and headed to the room she'd spent the summer in. She dropped her bag and clothes at the foot of the bed and climbed in between the sheets in just her towel.

With how exhausted she was she felt sure she would drop right off. But her mind wouldn't shut off and she felt like she was on a boat.

The door opened and someone stepped into the room. She prayed it wasn't her mother. The room was dark and that someone had made to sit on the bed. "Oh!" the voice said. "Ginny?" It was Harry. "Why? Oh… this was your room last summer wasn't it?"

"Hmm" was all she managed.

"Okay. I'll just let you sleep."

"Wait." She stopped him. "I am over tired and my brain won't shut off. Can you just sit with me and talk until I pass out?" She heard his hesitation. But then felt his weight on the bed. "Tell me about the new DADA teacher."

He laughed. "How about something that won't give you nightmares?" Then he described the one game of Quidditch he'd been allowed to play that year before getting kicked off the team.

Ginny smiled in the darkness and drifted off at the sound of his voice.

()()()()()()()()

Harry had been dumbfounded when she'd come through the Floo. Sirius had all but skipped into the kitchen five minutes previously and whispered something to Snape who looked startled and hastily retreated into the Floo system. Sirius had been almost vibrating in anticipation until she appeared before them.

Harry was so shocked he couldn't form words. Looking around the table it seemed everyone else was in much the same boat, except for Mrs. Weasley. Ginny looked exhausted, but even covered in soot he realized he was still very attracted to her.

Over the past few months apart he wondered if the Ginny in his memory/fantasies was bit by bit being built up. But here she was looking better than he'd remembered. Was her chest bigger? Her hair was longer, and her lips seemed fuller. She leaned over to hug her father and her rear looked more perfect. He heard her rail off at her mother and felt his stomach drop. He hadn't thought to let her know about her fathers attack either. Then she stomped out of the room.

Sirius was still vibrating beside him. Harry turned to face him. Mirth was what he read in those dark eyes. "I like that girl." Sirius said and grabbed his coffee. He then whispered to Harry, "If I was younger" then smiled and shook his head slightly. Sirius caught his eye and must have read the conflicting emotions there. He smiled wider and winked.

"Did. Did no one send her a message?" Ron asked. The resounding silence was answer enough.

"She is rather industrious." Dumbledore said.

Mrs. Weasley seemed to be biting her lip and holding back her emotions while she cleared dishes to busy herself.

"Did she say aeroplane?" Mr. Weasley asked eagerly. The room broke out in laughter, with the exception of Snape and Mrs. Weasley.

As the Weasley boys dug into their second plate of breakfast Harry excused himself. He headed up and entered his dark bedroom and wanted to lay down for a moment. The worry about a shared consciousness with Voldemort was plaguing him, and he hadn't been sleeping well.

But he was well into the room by the time he realized his bed was already occupied. He was going to leave, but she'd asked him to stay until she fell asleep. And if he was honest with himself there was nothing else he would prefer more.

After sitting down on the bed beside her his eyes adjusted to the dim light in the room and he could make out more details of her. He slowly rattled off the play by play of the only Quidditch match he'd been able to play this year and resisted the urge to touch her hair. She smelled good, and looked good.

She was fully asleep now and he though back to the last time he'd seen her. It had been amazing. His kiss with Cho on the other hand had been anything but. Thank heavens he'd had something to compare it to.

He slipped off the bed before his mind got too carried away with the idea of possibly laying down with her. He gently opened the door and closed it on the other side.

"Why are you being so careful?" Sirius whispered mischievously beside him.

Harry jumped and rounded on him. "Ginny's asleep in there." He whispered back.

Sirius grinned. "Put her to bed did you?" Harry's jaw dropped and he sputtered at the insinuation. Sirius placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't marry her I will."

Harry sputtered even more at that and turned red. "What?" He exclaimed in a hushed yell.

"That was your dad's reaction to when I said that about your mum. You Potter's sure have a thing for the red heads."

Then Sirius walked away up the stairs and Harry stood there rooted on the spot with a small smile playing on his lips.

()()()()()()()

 **AN- Reserve all questions and comments of Ginny's transportation uses until after the next chapter. Her world is about to be flipped again.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter**

It was just after lunch when Mrs. Weasley entered Harry's bedroom to rouse Ginny. "Honey?"

"Mrph."

"Ginny, you should get up now or you won't sleep tonight."

Ginny rolled over. "Is there coffee?"

Her mother bent over her and brushed her hair out of her face to kiss her forehead. "I'll put on a fresh pot." And she left to let Ginny get dressed.

Ginny pulled on her clothes that she'd worn earlier. She couldn't re-size her rucksack outside of school and didn't feel like running around in a towel to find someone of age. She opened the door of the bedroom to find Harry about to knock.

"Hi" They said at the same time.

"I've come to get my things. Move them to Ron's room."

"Oh, sorry I'm uprooting you." She smiled tiredly. She waved him into the room.

"It's no bother. Sleep well?"

"I'm still not quite thinking straight, but it'll have to do for now."

He put a bag on the bed and was partway through loading it full of clothes. "You still look good." He said offhandedly. Then realized how it might have sounded and subconsciously kicked himself.

She felt a bit of a blush rising to her cheeks. "I have something of yours." She remembered and grabbed her cloak. Pulling out the mirror she handed it to him. "Your trunk at school may be in a bit of disarray." She chuckled lightly. He looked down at the mirror in confusion. "It was the only way I could think of contacting someone in the Order." She explained seeing his confusion. "With all of the Fidelus charms in place. Sirius told me about it last summer." She went on.

"What is it?"

Ginny stared at him. Did he really get special gifts like this all the time that he didn't even bother about opening this one? "It's a two-way mirror." She explained slowly "So you can talk to Sirius with-out Floo or a telephone."

His eyes widened and he took it from her like it was incredibly breakable and precious. Ginny chuckled again and shook her head at him. "I guess it's a good thing you never even bothered to open it, otherwise I may still be stuck in your dorm room with a thoroughly confused dorm mate of yours."

Harry looked back at her. "Who?"

"Um… I had remembered his name, now it's gone. Sean?"

"Seamus."

"Right" She nodded. "Well I didn't know which dorm room was yours and I saw him in the common room." She leaned back against the dresser. "He may have gotten the wrong impression when I asked him to take me to his room." She giggled now.

Harry's eyes glazed over, imagining what his reaction would be if she'd asked him that question.

She bit her lip. "Percy's letter" She began. "It implied that you saved my dad from his attack." Harry swallowed and gave a half nod. Ginny gave him a long look.

"I. I kind of saw what was happening in a nightmare." He began, looking at the floor. "I know it sounds weird, but… I saw the snake attack him and I woke up and alerted Dumbledore and the Order."

He didn't know what else to say. If there was anything more to say. There was no explanation that he had for it. He looked up from the floor to meet her eye. He couldn't describe what he saw there. Not a questioning or quizzical look, or one of fear. But it made his breath slow and his heart beat faster.

She closed the distance between them and kissed him.

Ginny was still very tired and disoriented, but in that moment he looked so good and inviting. His arms went around her and she snuck one hand into his hair as their lips danced against each other. She moaned as he dropped the possessions he'd been holding and turned her around so he could lay her on her back on the bed. Just as he had wanted to do four months previous.

They lost themselves in each other's kisses and touches, as her hands wandered from his hair and down his back, his cupped her cheek and ran down her sides. Harry lay on his side beside her and cupped her hip to bring it up closer to him. His thumb traced circles on the exposed skin there and she fought to stop herself from throwing her leg around his hip to bring herself even closer. Harry kissed his way down her neck. Not knowing how they even got to be doing this, but relishing in the feelings it was stirring up in him.

Ginny was much in the same boat. Twenty-four hours previously she had been happily chatting away with Ethan about their shared dis-interest in their current relationships, joking about the manner in which they were going to break them off.

Ginny's eyes shot open. "Stop." She managed shakily, and pushed back from Harry. "I shouldn't have done that." She sat up and ran a hand through her hair. Harry looked confused and a little hurt. Also disheveled. She bit her lip at the disheveled.

"Was it.. was I not." He couldn't find the words.

"Oh!" She realized he thought he'd done something wrong. "No!" She clarified. "It was, well, fabulous. Fantastic really." She smiled and blushed. Then chastised herself. "I just forgot that, I, um. Well I have a boyfriend." She cleared her throat and looked away from him. "We hadn't been connecting lately. Ever really. And I am planning to end it with him. I just forgot for a minute that I hadn't yet." She chanced a peak back at Harry's face. "You just… well you look really good too." She went on to explain lamely.

Harry blushed and the ghost of a smile came to his face.

God, she wanted to straddle him and keep going. She winced internally at the thought and stood up. Her mother was bound to come looking for her if she didn't get down to the kitchen soon. "I suppose I could tell Chris that I cheated on him. That might move the break-up along." She joked, and instantly regretted it.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment. "I should go to the kitchen. We were probably very lucky not to have just gotten caught." She mumbled. Harry nodded at her and she sighed casting her gaze down before heading for the door. "Thank you, by the way."

Harry gave her a confused look. "Anytime?" He proffered. "Always happy to help you break-up with your boyfriends."

Ginny laughed. "I meant about my dad. But that's good to know."

"Oh!" Harry blushed and chucked a bit.

She gave him one last longing look. _Why didn't I break-up with Chris before the holidays?_ She chastised herself. She closed the door and made her way to the kitchen.

()()()()()()()

It was just her parents, Remus and Sirius around the table.

There was a sandwich and coffee at an empty seat meant for her. She gave her mother an appreciative smile and sat down tucking into her meal. She could feel all the eyes regarding her as she ate and tried not to give in that it made her nervous.

The twins came in and sat on either side of her, both openly starring with beaming smiles. She ignored them, except for her smile that crept onto her face.

"Our sister sure is something isn't she?"

"Sure is! Battling aeroplanes."

"Trains"

"Automobiles."

"And Floo!"

Ginny finished her coffee and Ron came in with Harry and they both took the seats opposite her and the twins.

"Now then." Her mother said clearing her plate. "Where should we start?"

"With dad." Said Ginny plainly.

Her father nodded and gave an abridged version of the job he'd been assigned by the Order. Then Ron told the story from Harry's point of view. About his dream/premonition and how it had proved true about the snake. Ginny locked her eyes on Harry. He was looking down at the table.

Her thank-you earlier didn't seem quite enough.

"We are so sorry we didn't tell you Gin-Bug. But we didn't want you to worry." Her father said.

"I understand, but consider the situation in reverse. You were almost mortally injured dad. This wasn't a broken bone, a quick fix. If I'd been hurt this bad and didn't tell you all then you found out after the fact, you'd hop the pond and immediately finish me off!"

He brothers snickered. Everyone else smiled. Including Harry and Ginny.

Ginny's mother came up behind her and gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head. "You are right. And next time we will be sure to tell you right away."

"Or better yet, not let there be a next time." Ginny offered.

Everyone sobered a bit at that, knowing it probably wouldn't be the case.

"Now then!" Sirius started. "I think we want to hear more about your journey here!"

Ginny chuckled again and rolled her eyes before regaling them with her tale starting with Percy's letter she received at Ethan's right through to her almost hugging Snape in the potions room when she saw him. Everyone laughed openly about that. She had left out the part about Draco Malfoy.

"You were quite industrious there Gin-Bug" her dad commented. Her brothers though it was all brilliant, but her mother looked concerned about potential hiccups that may have happened.

Remus had a curious expression. "If you don't mind my asking… how did you manage to get a last-minute plane ticket?"

Ginny looked at him in horror and felt all of the colour drain from her face and the bottom drop out of her stomach. She was thoroughly unprepared for that question.

It had cost about $2000 American dollars for the last-minute ticket. Now, while that had made a small dent in her savings, she could afford it. Only her friends and family didn't know that. With the exception of Charlie. It had been their well-guarded secret.

Until now.

"Ginny!" Her mother raised her voice. "You didn't use magic against Muggles did you?"

"No!" She assured her. "I paid for it I swear!"

"Did Ethan's parents help you out?" Her father asked.

Ginny shifted uncomfortably. "No…" She shook her head. That would have been a good explanation, but lead to too many loose ends to tie up. She nervously looked around the room. There was nothing left to do but tell the truth.

She sucked in a deep breath to ready herself and looked down at her nails. "I used my muggle credit card tied to my bank account at Gringotts."

She didn't look up from her hands. She could feel the confused stares. "What account at Gringotts?" Her mother asked angrily.

Ginny cleared her throat painfully and looked at her mother.

"The one I opened three years ago when Wonder Witch bought my Patent for a nail polish that can change any colour you want. The patent from which I keep getting a percentage of the profits from and use to pay for my Ilvermory tuition. See I don't actually have a scholarship. I've just been paying for school myself." She let it all tumble out.

Everyone was dumbfounded. Except Sirius who looked like a years supply of Prozac had just kicked in. "Marry me." He beamed at her.

She felt her nerves calm down enough to answer him. "How exactly does one go about marrying an escaped convict while she's still underage?"

He barked his laughter in response. "Is that a yes?"

"The underage part may give us a problem. Ask me again in two and a half years." She winked cheekily at him.

Her mother found her voice then. "You've been paying for your schooling?" She was furious. "You've been lying to us for three years?!"

Ginny winced and looked back down at her hands.

"How?" Remus asked.

She looked up at his tired face. "How did I get a Gringotts account? How did I lie for three years? Or how did I create a product that is so successful that it led to the other questions?"

From the looks she was given she figured she might as well launch into her whole story, beginning with Hestia's nail polish and leaving out anything to do with the Malfoy's and Tom Riddle. Half way through her story she came up with a reason for her departure to Ilvermory, knowing that they would want to know that next.

"So why leave Hogwarts?" her mother asked.

Ginny couldn't hold back her smile, she was proud that she'd prepared for this question. "Gilderoy Lockhart." She chuckled. The boys started laughing. Ginny continued. "I was sitting in his class watching him re-enact one of the passages from one of his crap books with Michael Corner and I remember thinking 'I have another six years of this blowhard?'" Then she shrugged. "Then I realized that I didn't have to stay there if I didn't want to. So, I came up with the scholarship idea. I was top of my year and got excellent recommendations from Flitwick and McGonagall, so it was believable."

"We were so proud." Her father sounded despondent. "But children should not pay for their own schooling."

Ginny's eyes widened at her father. "But Ilvermory is much more expensive than Hogwarts with the International Fee's! I can't ask you to pay for that!"

"Which is why you are going back to Hogwarts." Her mother stated

Ginny felt her stomach drop again. "But" She started.

"She shouldn't go there now!" Harry interjected. All eyes turned to him. He'd been sitting there listening in amazement at her story. She was truly incredible, but the thought of 'I must not tell lies' branded on her hand and suffering through the awfulness that was Umbridge was not something he would let happen if he could stop it. "Umbridge is making our lives hell. Hogwarts is not a good place to be right now."

"Yeah" added Ron. "Ginny's safer at Ilvermory."

Ginny started at that. 'Safer?' she thought. Lucius Malfoy was no longer a threat to her, but she remembered Draco saying he was choosing the hell that was Hogwarts over the hell that was his home. "I've already paid through to the end of the year." Ginny said quietly.

"Next year then. You will start your fifth year at Hogwarts." Her mother said before leaving the kitchen.

Ginny swallowed hard. There was nothing more she could say. "Ginny?" Her father said.

She clenched her jaw and looked at him. Being raised with boys, by boys essentially, meant she refused to cry. "I'll take my punishment, but I am not apologizing for anything." She said looking into his sad blue eyes. She rose from the table and left for her room.

()()()()()()()

The twins gave her an hour before they sought her out. She'd been sitting morosely on the bed. The life she'd worked so hard for was going away. She'd left to escape the Malfoys, and now they were no longer a threat. They had some kind of alliance. Tom Riddle was the threat. She had three pieces of him destroyed and when she was at school with Ethan and her other friends she didn't think about it. Now she had to go back to Hogwarts. 'Should I tell the Malfoy's?' She pondered before shaking her head. Tom was living at their place now and owls were being intercepted at Hogwarts. How would she tell them?

"Dearest sister"

"Favourite sister"

"Only sister" she said wryly.

"We have a business proposition for you."

"Yes, and may we say. We had no idea we weren't the only inventors in the family."

"Don't go getting too excited about that. Pretty sure that was a one off for me." Ginny told them.

"Well, we've been inventing for ages and want to know if you would like to invest in us?"

"We've nearly got enough for our shop, but with your help we would be all set."

Ginny eyed them speculatively "What exactly are you asking for?"

"What are you willing to give?"

"No, not doing it that way. You want me to invest, you give me a real business proposal. Show me you are truly serious about something and can handle a business and I'll help you out."

They looked at each other with grins. "Seriously, how much have you got?"

Ginny smiled "More than enough to cover what was to be my next three years at Ilvermory. And that's 3000 Galleons a year."

Their jaws dropped. She'd collected herself enough now. It wouldn't do well to dwell on an inevitable sad situation. At least she had one more term with Ethan, one more Easter at his family ranch. "Tell me about this monster of a DADA professor you have while I borrow an owl. I have a portkey to arrange. There's no way I am flying back to Montana."

They grimaced and began regaling her the 'Tales of the Toad' while they went to Harry and Ron's room.

The other two boys had been passing a ball back and forth.

"Can I borrow an owl?" she asked Ron.

"No" Ron sulked at her.

"You can use Hedwig." Harry said.

She nodded to him in thanks.

"And it sucks even more now that there's no more Quidditch for us." Fred continued.

"No more Quidditch?!" Ginny stopped in her tracks. "They don't have Quidditch at Hogwarts anymore?"

"Calm down." George said. "We just got kicked off the team for fighting the ferret."

"Oh!" Ginny relaxed. "Who's the ferret?"

"Malfoy" came four responses.

Ginny's breath hitched. Of course. There may be an understanding or something with her, but that didn't extend to her family. 'Guess they wouldn't pass a message for me' Ginny thought to herself and almost laughed under her breath.

She found a piece of parchment and wrote out a request for a Portkey and attached it to Hedwig's leg. She'd done the process several times before and knew it would take about three days. She didn't exactly have the Lucius Malfoy connection for this one.

Meanwhile Ron told her the tale of the imposter Moody transfiguring Draco for trying to hex Harry with his back turned. Ginny and Harry's eyes locked. She suddenly felt awkward being in his room with three of her brothers considering they had just snogged two hours ago. Truth be told she wanted to snog him again.

It was then that she realized that she'd be spending the next two school years with him. A small smile came upon her while she remembered all the stories of secluded corners of Hogwarts from the upper years when she was a first year. She sat on the desk and couldn't help but slightly appraise Harry while pretending to listen to her brothers' stories.

She couldn't help but picture him giving her a tour of these secluded spots. Maybe going back to Hogwarts wouldn't be the worst thing. "So, what are the odds that this Umbridge toad will be there again next year?" Ginny asked.

Ron seemed to have forgotten his sulky mood now. "Zero" he said "DADA professors only last one year."

"And we plan on leading a revolt at the end of the year." Fred said.

"Yeah, if it weren't for Harry here, pretty sure no one would be able to pass their finals." George said. Ginny observed Harry openly now. He was blushing, it looked good on him. "He's been teaching an underground defense class in the Room of Requirement.

"Yeah, Umbridge just has us reading the text and claims You-Know-Who isn't really back." Ron added.

"Professor Potter eh?" Ginny winked at Harry. He grinned back at her. "How many people are in your lessons Professor?" She hoped that her brothers would see this as teasing instead of flirting.

"What are we now?" Fred asked.

"Thirty maybe?" George answered. "Longbottom actually produced a patronus the other day!"

"Neville? That's great!" Ginny exclaimed. "Oh! Can you get a letter to him and Luna for me? Their owls keep showing up censored and full of gibberish."

They all turned to her with raised eyebrows. "You're friends with Neville?" Harry asked.

"Of course! He's … Oh right! You never did learn who my three best friends are." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Guess we still aren't friends are we Harry?" Inside she was kind of hurt. Sure, they were obviously attracted to each other, they'd proven that, and she didn't expect him to write her or anything. But how is it Draco Malfoy knew more about her than Harry? She'd spent time with him and knew loads about him. He just couldn't be bothered?

Harry stumbled over his words a bit before he took a deep breath and looked her steadily in the eye. "Ginevra Weasley. August 11th. Luna, Ethan, and Neville." They were both looking each other deep in the eyes and she felt tingles go up her arm.

"How are you friends with Neville?" Ron asked. "He never asks about you."

"Why would he ask you about me? He knows more about me than you do."

"How?"

"We owl each other regularly"

"Why are two of your best friends boys?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to have a bunch of female friends for us to hit on?" George picked up.

"Eh!" Ginny shrugged. "Hit on Hermione."

"No!" Ron almost shouted. Everyone smiled at Ron as he blushed.

They passed the rest of the afternoon ribbing on each other and laughing until they were called down for dinner. Ginny's mother pulled her aside after so they could have a thorough chat about how she'd lied to her parents for so long.

After a lot of back and forth and yelling it finally came down to her being proud of Ginny's accomplishments and it being time for her to come home and back to Hogwarts. She would have one last term at Ilvermory, that's it. Ginny let one tear fall as the sadness sunk in then retired to her room to write Luna and Neville long letters before going to bed.

()()()()()()

The next day Ginny received confirmation of her Portkey and spent time with her family, especially her dad. Harry and her were never alone together, and that was for the best considering their hormones.

All too soon it was the morning of everyone leaving for their perspective schools. There was a line up for the shower. Ginny, Harry and Ron were waiting for their turn in the hallway. "Bet you're looking forward to seeing Cho again eh Harry?" Ron asked.

Ginny caught Harry's eye and raised her eyebrows at him slightly. He had a girlfriend?

Harry shifted uncomfortably and shrugged.

The bathroom door opened and Fred stepped out. "Next!" he grinned and Ron ducked in. Leaving Harry and Ginny alone in the now quiet corridor as Fred went into his room.

Ginny smirked at him a bit. "Guess I'm not the only forgetful one." She tilted her head at him. "Cho? Chang? Ravenclaw." He nodded. "Right."

"It's not like that. She isn't my girlfriend. We just… before the break, we kind of just…"

Ginny put her hands up. "Hey, you don't owe me any explanation. I forgot about my boyfriend, you forgot about a girlfriend. No big deal right?" She clenched her jaw.

"Ginny. What is this? You and I? Because I have no idea"

Ginny relaxed and her eyes softened. "I have no idea either." She chuckled a bit. "We snogged. Twice. We're seeing different people. Chalk it up to hormones maybe?"

Harry smiled. "You are just so much better than she was."

Ginny's eyes darkened and she bit her lip as her gaze shifted to his lips. "You're much better at it then he is too."

Harry's studious gaze went from her eyes to her lips as well. He took two steps towards her and lowered his head to her. Her soft lips were so much more satisfying than he remembered, even after only a few days.

He cupped the back of her head and she responded eagerly. A small cough startled them and they jumped apart.

Sirius stood there just a few feet away. "Now what would have happened if it had been a Weasley standing here instead of me?" The two of them blushed and separated. He turned to Ginny "Guess we aren't getting married after all." He smiled and continued down the hall.

Once he was out of ear shot Ginny finally spoke. "Perhaps this is just our way of saying 'hello and goodbye'?" She joked.

Harry laughed. "It's as good an explanation as any."

"And I guess we're going to be going to school together next year." Harry's laughter died away. A look of lust came over his face and his eyes slowly racked down her form. She let him look. She enjoyed him looking. "We probably won't see each other for at least six months." She continued. His eyes snapped back up to hers. She worried her lip.

"Yeah." He waited for her to continue.

"So… no promises?" A smile slowly grew on his face, hers grew to match it. "I hear there are many darkened corners of the castle I've never seen."

Then Ron came out of the bathroom. "All yours mate!"

Harry ducked in there immediately. Ginny stood alone in the hallway for five minutes. Five agonizing minutes.

All of her brothers had finished up in their rooms in that time and headed back downstairs. The bathroom door finally opened again and she didn't let Harry exit. Instead she pushed him back into the steamy bathroom and closed the door before she turned to devour his mouth. He quickly pushed her back up against the door and pressed their whole bodies against each other returning her kisses feverously.

His hands ran down her sides and up her thighs as he lifted her legs so they wrapped around him. The smell and taste of him was all encompassing in her senses. The feel of his chapped lips on her soft ones made her groan and the position of their bodies was so erotic. He knew what he was doing when it came to her. Each tilt of his head and added pressure of his lips was perfect. She rocked against him and he moaned loudly.

Their lips separated and hungry eyes regarded each other with heavy breaths. "What were you saying about no promises?" He asked with difficulty.

"Six months, two continents, and clearly lots of hormones. Shouldn't have expectations." She managed between breaths. "But."

Harry smiled and captured her lips again quickly but deeply. "I like the sound of that 'but'."

"But if we can't control ourselves when we're at school together."

"Maybe the new can make some promises?" He finished hopefully.

She smiled and licked her lips. He let her legs back down to the floor and gave her one last sound kiss. "I am going to miss you… again."

She smiled and bit her lip. "I may start counting the days." He beamed brightly at her and left the bathroom.

()()()()()()()()

Ginny had the portkey return her to Ethan's, not Ilvermory. She landed in the stables. The horses were all out on the field. Ethan was leaning back against the wall waiting for her smiling. "All good?" he asked.

She smiled back at him, then it faltered. Her chin warbled and Ethan's happy expression turned to a concerned one. "What?" He stepped forward. He'd never seen Ginny get emotional like this before. She was a happy-go-lucky person. She wasn't a girlie girl. He hugged her. "I though your dad was going to be fine?"

"He is." She sniffed. "But this is my last term at Ilvermory. They're making me go back to Hogwarts for next year." She said into his shoulder.

"What!? Why?"

She pulled back and gave him a watery smile, wiping her nose she giggled her way through the explanation of her 'scholarship'. They were on the hay covered floor of the stable both laughing by the end.

"And they were so proud of their little genius?"

"Only when she was being rewarded for her school work!" Ginny sobered. "Not because I created something that earned me thousands of Galleons." She harrumphed. "Although they aren't happy about the twins creations either…"

The twins had actually gotten her a business proposal before she left. She hadn't even given it a proper looking over before agreeing. She just wanted proof that they were serious. The length of it and the fact that the parts that she had read were not a laugh proved it.

They got up from the floor. "So only a few more months together then." Ethan frowned.

"Yes, and first thing when we're back at school you _have_ to remind me to break up with Chris!" She remembered.

"Because you want to spend all your free time with me?" He smiled cheekily at her.

She grinned widely. "No. Because I cheated on him with Harry Potter!"

Ethan stopped walking, dumbstruck. Even in America the boy was famous. Ginny giggled and ran back to the house.

Their last term together Ethan tried to help Ginny make the most of it. She'd expressed all of her worries over returning, particularly the shoddy teachers, and even more particularly in DADA. Ginny was sure the American way was much more advanced than what they had been doing back at Hogwarts.

"Maybe you can see about challenging the test and bumping up a year in that subject." Ethan had proffered. She immediately looked into it. With all she'd heard about Umbridge's methods how hard could it be to sit the OWL early for that subject?

As it turned out there was a way for her to sit that OWL early. And every other OWL if she was willing to pay the ten Galleon's it took for each OWL test. She could take them at the ministry as soon as she got back to England in June. Now that her money wasn't going to tuition, she shrugged at put it towards a different form of furthering her education.

Jason, her first boyfriend, was actually extremely helpful with her studies. When they weren't busy studying, she was busy helping her Quidditch team win the championship. Ginny had been the choice for one of the captains for the following year, which she was both elated and upset to hear, and the wrap up party was also a farewell party (Even though it happened a month and a half before the end of term.)

That night she'd gotten a little too much 'punch' and wound up in the arms of one of the Beaters. It didn't last past that night though. While she and Harry had said 'no promises' before she left it had still felt like cheating. More so than when she'd actually cheated on Chris with Harry. Plus, Harry had been the far superior snog than Geoff the Beater.

That same night Ethan lost his virginity to his on-again off-again girlfriend, and Ginny's dorm mate, Megan. Ginny was amazed at that discovery and had all sorts of questions for him that they both blushed through. She wondered idly about what sorts of contraceptives they used. His eyes went as big as saucers and Ginny dutifully ran back to Megan and asked her about it. Megan went into a rage about 'her private business' and then confirmed that she'd taken a potion from a seventh year.

Meanwhile back in England, that same night of her wrap up party Harry was using his two-way mirror to contact Sirius and tell him all about his vision in the Department of Mysteries. An Auror team locked down the Ministry and captured several Death Eaters before the first confirmed sighting of Voldemort. Through the power of the Pensive that sighting was the front page of the Daily Prophet.

Emboldened by the country's realization of Harry Potter and Dumbledore's statements being true this whole past year, all the students stepped forward who had been subjected to the blood quill torture by Umbridge. She was immediately cast out of the school at the outrage of the parents.

The Inquisitorial Squad was disbanded and Dumbledore was reinstated.

All was back to being good at Hogwarts, finally. But Harry still had to return home to the Dursleys. Sirius was still an escaped convict, and so it was decided that the day before his birthday he would be going to 'The Burrow'. But actually, he would be heading to Grimmauld Place to be with Sirius and Remus.

Ginny managed to convince her parents to let her work at Three W (Which is what she called Weasley Wizard Wheeze's) so long as she Floo'd there, and Floo'd back. Fred and George were willing to help her out when she told them about sitting her OWL's. They thought it was brilliant. She also got to visit with Luna and Neville on her days off, and played Quidditch with Ron if he wasn't being too annoying.

Draco Malfoy was experiencing a very different type of summer holiday.

His father was now in Azkaban, which was preferable to being dead. Draco was grateful for that. If Voldemort had gotten to him before the Auror's that would have been the case. But now it fell to Draco to try and please the Dark Lord he hated so much in order to keep his mother safe. It filled him with a never-ending feeling of hatred. Why couldn't they just have fled?

Now he had the Dark Mark branded on him forever, and an impossible mission. Two actually. Get Death Eaters into Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore.

Sure. Why didn't he just resurrect Merlin while he was at it? Maybe this was how Potter felt all the time. Like everything rested on him. At least Potter had friends he could trust and could rely on.

'Oh great.' He thought. His jealousy of Potter was rearing its ugly head.

No, he'd give anything to be in Potter's shoes right now over his own.

Draco pulled his cloak on and headed to the fireplace. He swallowed hard and steadied his shaking hand before throwing Floo powder in and stating 'Diagon Alley'.

It was really empty. There had been so much destruction and fear through-out this once vibrant street. Now the only light was from the new Weasley Wizard Wheeze's shop. He paused to stare at it a while from the shadows.

Students were bustling in and out. He wasn't really seeing it, he was seeing the alliances the different teenagers had. He longed for that. The waving statue at the crest of the shop door had the signature Weasley hair and the thought of her.

Lucius never did tell him why she was important, but she would have been a comfort to him. He could see an alliance with her this upcoming year bringing him some peace.

Her momentary embrace of him and chaste kiss to his cheek made him touch his cheek and warm now, so many months later. She had shocked him, restored emotions to him he had been void of until then. He'd sought out female companionship after that. A few Slytherin girls were easy, ready and willing. But he'd still felt rather dead inside with them. They hadn't been a comfort, but they had been a release of tension.

He saw the Golden Trio exit the shop. Granger arguing with the Weasel and Potter ignoring them and looking back at the shop window.

Draco pulled his hood tighter around him and made his way to Borgin and Burkes. He had a werewolf waiting for him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter**

Harry had spent part of his summer with the Weasley's for every summer since attending Hogwarts, it was his favorite tradition. However, this summer he was at Grimmauld Place with Sirius and Remus. Which was also great, but there was a certain Weasley he was anxious to see.

He'd been dreaming and fantasizing about seeing Ginny since they'd parted ways last. Sirius teased him about it quite a bit.

They'd headed over to the Burrow for dinner one evening, but Ginny had been over at Luna's the whole time. He had been so sure that he'd see her that he was positively shaking in pent up frustration when they got back from the Burrow. It had taken him thirty minutes in the shower before he'd calmed down some, but he still needed another good wank in order to finally fall asleep that night.

The thought of potentially going swimming with her in the pond before dinner, as he was prepared to suggest had played out properly in the scenarios he'd pulled to mind.

It wasn't until he'd met up with Ron and Hermione in Diagon Alley that he finally saw her in the twin's shop.

She'd gotten more attractive. She was playing with the Pygmy Puff's and giggling, showing some customers. Her smile lit up her entire face, and her beautiful brown eyes were shining as she talked to the customers and played with the little fluff balls. Fred and George hadn't made her wear the ridiculous lavender outfits that they did, instead she just had on some fitted jeans and purple t-shirt with WWW on the back. Ron and Hermione were momentarily distracted as he made his way over to her without telling them.

She didn't appear to have noticed his approach. "Have you seen these Invisibility Caps?" She said aloud before turning to him. Her eyes twinkled mischievously. She held up two knit caps. He grinned at her. "We guarantee them for five minutes at a time. You interested?" She cocked an eyebrow at him. Her last question came in a much different tone than her first.

"Yes." He stepped closer. He was doing his best not to pant in anticipation.

She smiled and pulled on one of the caps and vanished. He could feel her come closer to him. "You promise?" She whispered in his ear. The hair on the back of his neck stood up on end and he felt a twitch below the belt.

"Absolutely." He replied desperately. He felt the second cap slide onto his head and the pressure of her hands bringing his head to hers.

He had to close his eyes. Being invisible and snogging someone who is also invisible was disturbing. But with eyes closed he could smell her vanilla and flowery scent, feel her warmth and enjoy the delicious feeling of her lips. He fought not to moan when her body pressed up against his.

They bumped noses as their lips danced together exploring the pleasure of the different pressures. Her arms held him around the neck and his went around her middle, clutching at her lower back. He craved to move them lower and feel the curve of her bum.

"You are damn good at that" She whispered.

He grinned. "As are you."

"We have to take these off. They'll give out in a moment." She took a step back.

He opened his eyes. He was still under the spell, he looked around, no one seemed to be looking in his direction. He took the cap off and waited, expecting to see her appear a moment later, but she didn't.

Instead he felt a light pinch on his rear and he bit back a yelp. There was a warm and wet sensation on his ear lobe that made his eyes roll back in his head. "I hope I see you again before the train." She whispered seductively.

He looked around for her again, but she still didn't appear. Finally, he spotted her minutes later on the second floor talking with Neville who he didn't notice before.

"This place is brilliant!" Hermione said when she found him. "I am truly amazed at what the twins have though up!" Harry nodded and finally turned his attention to some of the products around him. The Invisibility Caps he was a fan of, but Hermione was right. There were so many cool and interesting looking objects, most of which he would certainly need to look over the descriptions for to figure out what they did. "Oh! There's Ginny with Neville!" Hermione waved enthusiastically.

Harry looked up towards them again. They were waving down at her. Harry felt Ginny was giving a smile just for him.

"This place is madness." Ron said as he made it over to them. "Let's bail."

()()()()()()()()

Hours later he was back at Grimmauld Place alone with Sirius and Remus. "So, you must have seen your favorite ginger firecracker today."

Harry was startled. "How did you know that?" He asked wiping his lips thinking that she may have been wearing lipstick, but he hadn't noticed, and Hermione and Ron hadn't said anything.

"It's written all over your face." Sirius laughed.

"What's this?" Remus asked amused.

"It seems our young buck and the lovely Ginevra have… found each other."

Harry blushed as Remus turned surprised eyes on him. "Really?" Remus had been thoroughly impressed with Ginny when he met her properly the last Christmas. She was certainly one that could look after herself, and she was quite attractive. It was no wonder to him that Harry was so smitten with her.

"Yeah" Harry blushed back.

"How did Ron take it? Six is a lot of brothers." Remus questioned him, concerned.

"I… uh. Haven't told him. I don't think Ginny has either." Harry's expression went from dazed to fazed. She was his best friends little sister, he kept forgetting. Ron was one hell of a hot head, but surely he would be okay with Harry and she being together... right?

Sirius and Remus gave each other a look.

()()()()()()()

The rest of the summer passed quickly for Ginny. She'd seen Harry a few times at the dinner table at the Burrow, but they never managed to get a moment alone together. This was completely new territory for her. None of her family members knew of her dating life. Since her brothers had harassed her about Ethan the previous summer they hadn't said a word to her about any of her romantic inclinations. So, she and Harry becoming an item would probably be a shock.

And Harry was Ron's best friend, so that had to be addressed too.

All they could do when they saw each other was make friendly conversation and eye each other. He was really filling out and she was noticing. His shoulders were broader than she'd remembered. Were his eyes always that green and enticing? She just wanted to run her hands through that hair again. My god his voice sounds good. She found herself staring at him with all these thoughts in a sort of trance at the dinner table on August 31st.

Sirius nudged her in the ribs. "Ouch. What?" she looked over at him.

"Whoops" He smiled at her. She blushed slightly and glanced back at Harry one more time.

"Ginny" her mother cut in, startling her. "If you're all finished could you grab some apples from the orchard? We need about a dozen."

"Sure" she slid out of her seat and grabbed a basket by the back door on her way out.

"I'll give her a hand." She heard Harry offer. "I could use a bit of a walk." She felt her anticipation and excitement make her hands tremble a bit. He fell into step with her as they crested the hill to the orchard. He glanced back at the Burrow to make sure Ron hadn't followed them. "So, you excited about tomorrow?" he asked her.

They were out of sight of the Burrow now, she stopped and grabbed his hand. "That's something you can ask me with Ron around." She smiled slyly and stepped closer to him.

"I don't… I am going to be crap at this." He breathed. He tentatively put a hand on her waist. "I just don't know what to do. I just know I want… you."

She smiled broadly at that and pulled him closer to kiss him full on the lips. "And I just know I've been wanting to do that over and over again for months." He grinned back at her before kissing her again. "So." She pulled away and led him by the hand to the apple trees. "What about my brother?"

"Do we tell him you mean?" She nodded. "I've been grappling with that. I have no idea how he'll react, but how can I tell him when…" He trailed off. He didn't have any clue how to broach the subject of the potential longevity of their relationship, that hadn't actually even started yet.

She pushed the basket into his hands. "When we don't have a definition yet?"

His shoulders sagged a bit. "Yeah."

"I get it. There's more people involved in this than just us." She started picking the apples and filling the basket. "We don't even really know each other yet. I just know I'm attracted to you and you're a hell of a snog." She grinned.

"Sounds like we're on the same page then." He laughed.

She plucked the last apple and tossed it into the basket. "So, we keep this quiet for a bit?" He looked a little put out, but nodded. "Well then." She shrugged back "I've been told there are several broom closets at Hogwarts." She trailed a few fingers up the middle of his chest.

Gone was the sadness in his eyes. It was replaced with anticipation and hints of lust. He put down the basket and pulled her flush against him catching her lips eagerly. She sighed at the delicious feelings he gave her. Warmth spread from her belly and she wrapped her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers through his hair scratching his scalp in a way that made him groan.

She was so glad he wasn't a tongue guy. She'd tried to train Chris out of frenching her all the time. It wasn't enjoyable to her. But snogging Harry in the orchard was absolutely delectable.

"We've been gone too long." She whispered. He made a humming sound as he kissed down her neck. The ministrations he was making with his thumbs on her hips were making her brain fuzzy. He'd kissed and licked his way down her neck to the sensitive spot at the base that made her moan and rock into him with her pelvis.

They both froze. She could tell he was aroused. It was pretty obvious to him that he'd done something that made her lose control, and suddenly his morning wank was a distant memory. He took in a deep breath and tried to control his urges to rock back against her and keep kissing and licking that spot. But he pulled back. "Right." He said as they stared deep into each other's eyes. He slowly released the grip he hadn't realized he'd been holding her in. She licked her lips and he shifted his eyes staring at them as if in a trance.

She stepped back and grabbed the basket from the ground and handed it to him. "Ready?" She asked. He cleared his throat bringing himself back down to earth and nodded. "So… how much free time do you normally have at school?" She asked as they headed back to the house.

He laughed. "Won't know until after tomorrow, but I'm hoping for a lot of it." They both chuckled. "Will you sit with me on the train tomorrow?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Ron and Hermione?"

"Will be at the prefects meeting." He finished lightly with a smile.

"Well then. I will actually invite you to sit with me and my friends then."

"Okay!" He said eagerly as they walked through the door to the kitchen.

"What took so long?" Ron asked.

"We got chatting." Ginny replied easily.

Ron looked at her confused. "About what?"

"Hogwarts. The Hogwarts Express. And how he is going to sit with me and my friends tomorrow while you and your girlfriend go off and be perfect little prefects." She teased and slip back into her seat by Sirius, who she didn't dare look at.

Ron shrugged, then paused as what she said registered. "Hey! She's not my girlfriend!"

"Yet." Ginny finished. "And that's just because you're an idiot. I've heard all about the two of you and how you act around each other. Looking forward to seeing it in person though!"

Ron went bright red and Ginny winked at Harry. The subject had easily been changed.

()()()()()()()()

The next day on the train Ginny, Harry, Luna and Neville were all sharing a compartment together. Neville and Luna had grown to be something of an item, so Harry and Ginny got to sit beside each other while they all hung out. Harry knew them both pretty well from rooming with Neville, and the DA.

Ginny was pretty relieved to have a proper hang out session with Harry before diving right into broom closet make-out sessions and sneaking around.

Harry couldn't believe his luck.

After years of crap compounded by crap, he still has several people that wanted to kill him, one in particular. But here in this train compartment with Ginny and her friends it was the farthest thing from his mind.

He'd been fantasizing about this girl for a year and now they were going to be sneaking around the castle together all year! He'd wanked twice last night at the thought of where he'd show her first and what they'd do once they got there. He had to remind himself that this was really going to happen. She was actually there, and wanted him too!

Now, here in this compartment he was actually getting a proper chance to get to know her. He'd thought over everything he knew and liked about her since the previous summer. She was smart, funny, quick witted, strong willed and ballsy. She'd invented and patented something when she was eleven, and yet she wasn't an in-you-face kind of person about it. Hermione sure would be. She'd also spent the last three years doing her schooling in America because she'd hated Lockhart as much as he did. That was amazing.

He also got on great with her friends. After the DA last year he'd already bonded with Neville and Luna so there was no awkwardness with them all hanging out together. He'd been thrown for a moment when Neville asked about Quidditch try-outs.

"You want to play this year?" Harry asked him.

Neville laughed, as did Ginny. "I think he means Ravenclaw Quidditch try-outs." Ginny put her hand on his leg.

"You play?" He was surprised. "Your brothers never mentioned that!" He thought a second. "You never mentioned that!"

She smiled slyly at him. "I'm full of secrets and surprised."

"You really are. I suspect a Blumphy makes you feel compelled to hide things." Luna spoke.

"Could be. It's as good an explanation as any since I don't always know why I avoid full truths most of the time." Ginny shrugged. She didn't comment on the odd reasoning that Luna had, she was used to her far out explanations for things.

"What position do you play?"

"Chaser. I was in line to be a captain this year at Ilvermory. Guess I'll have to start from the bottom again." She frowned slightly. "Who's the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain?"

"Terry Boot was in line for it last. But I don't think they need a new Chaser this year." Luna answered her. Direct for once.

"They don't change the line-up unless someone graduates out?" Ginny looked defeated.

"Maybe they will need you for reserve?" Neville offered. Ginny nodded.

"What broom do you have?" Harry asked to try and get to a happier subject.

"Nimbus 2001. But I am rather eager to try out a Firebolt, know anyone that has one?" She bit her lip and raised an eyebrow at him.

He stared at her mouth a second longer than he should have. "You can ride my broom." He said slightly dazed. 'She just got more attractive' he thought 'how did she do that?' She smiled widely at the double entente. He blushed once he's registered what he'd said.

"Oh that's nice." Luna said dreamily. "I never was a big fan of Cho. She's much too emotional."

Harry and Ginny both turned to her. Harry sputtered, Ginny smirked and turned back to him. "Don't even bother, Luna is all knowing."

Neville's eyebrows shot up. "You two are together?"

"We…" Harry began.

"Are trying to get this sorted before we tell people." Ginny finished. "Too much family politics to deal with if it turns out to be… Um…" Ginny turned back to Harry, unsure of how to word her explanation. It seemed pretty crass to say 'in case we blow each other a few times and it all falls to shit.'

Neville blushed and grabbed Luna's hand. "Understood. We won't say anything."

"Would you like me to check how many Nargles you have? That'll tell us how you feel about each other." She reached for a pair of truly ostentatious spectacles.

"No!" Harry and Ginny laughed, but she'd already put them on.

"Wow!" She exclaimed. "You know the luggage car is probably empty of people if you wanted to get rid of some of those." Ginny buried her face in her hands and Harry just sat there smiling awkwardly. Luna then turned to Neville. "Oh! That's so sweet." She smiled and took off her glasses before kissing him softly.

Ginny removed her hands from her face and shook her head. "Think we can go flying together tonight?" Harry beamed at the idea but didn't get a chance to answer before the compartment door opened.

"Harry my boy!" A rather rotund older man spoke. "Been looking for you! I'd like to have you join a little get together for a select few. Right up at the front if you'd like to meet me there!"

"Um…" Harry blushed at him.

"Who's that?" Ginny whispered in his ear. Her breath on his ear sent a wave of pleasure down his spine and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

"Professor Slughorn." He cleared his throat. The professor smiled at the other occupants of the compartment, but only had eyes for Harry.

Ginny pushed his side a bit. "Go on Harry. We can catch up more later."

Harry sighed not looking forward to this and made his way to the front most compartment.

By the time he was done with the ridiculous 'Slug Club' Ron and Hermione were in the compartment with Ginny, Luna and Neville. Ron was already boggarting the Chocolate Frogs Harry had bought earlier.

"How was Professor Slughorn's gathering?" Hermione asked.

Harry had to sit with her between he and Ginny. "Boring and pointless." Harry replied.

"Oh! But I heard the _famous_ Harry Potter was there!" Ginny teased.

Everyone but Harry laughed. He just pursed his lips and blushed a bit. "How was your meeting?" Harry changed the subject.

"Same old, same old" Ron replied.

"Informative" Hermione said at the same time.

Finally, the train made it to Hogsmeade Station and everyone off-loaded. As they made their way to the carriages Ginny paused. Neville bumped into her. "What's up?"

"What are those?" She asked pointing to the animals pulling the carriages. The five of her companions froze and stared at her wild-eyed. "What?" She asked feeling self-conscious. "I don't take Care of Magical Creatures, and I may know a lot about horses, but those are clearly not horses."

"You can see them?" Harry asked.

"The giant black Pegasus thing? Yes, kind of hard to miss." Ginny answered sarcastically.

"They're Thestrals." Luna said. "You can only see them if you've seen death."

"Oh…" Ginny understood why they were so surprised.

"What the bloody hell happened to you at Ilvermory?" Ron asked her rather loudly.

Ginny rolled her eyes and climbed into the carriage. "Nothing that traumatic. Ethan's gran just passed away at the dinner table while I was visiting one time." She brushed him off. "That was the first time we got drunk." She remembered suddenly and giggled to herself. "So." She continued unsure once they were all seated. "I know why Luna can see them, but who else?"

"Just me" Harry said across from her. She worried her lip waiting for him to explain.

"Cedric Diggory." Hermione told her.

Realization dawned. "The Tri-Wizard Tournament." Ginny said quietly and a few of them nodded. She looked into Harry's emerald eyes. "I'm sorry." He nodded at her.

Once at the school Ginny linked her arm with Luna's. "We'll see you Gryffindor's later then." She waved to them.

"Meet me at the pitch after the dinner then?" Harry asked. She grinned and nodded.

Ron gave him a confused look and they all headed in the direction of their house tables.

After all of the first years were sorted the chair and sorting hat were usually banished. But this time Dumbledore stood. "Congratulations all first years. I am sure you will excel in your houses and make them proud. Now before we begin the feast, we have one more sorting." Everyone looked around confused. "It is a rare occasion that a student transfers out of Hogwarts, and rarer still for them to transfer back, especially after several years absence. In fact, we have a little bit of History in the making today as this is the first occurrence after several years away. And I believe this lucky person is currently seated at her former house table."

Ginny let a soft disgusted sigh out and rolled her eyes. Luckily only the people in her immediate vicinity heard it. She rolled her eyes to Luna. "Miss Weasley if you would please come forward you will be re-sorted."

"I'll be right back" Ginny whispered a little louder than she intended and earned a few chuckles. But then she saw that Terry Boot was three seats down across from her and she paused. The wheels in her head were turning. Ravenclaw didn't need Chasers. She wasn't going to be rooming with her friends anymore because she'd bumped up a year (A fact that she still failed to tell everyone), so did she still want to be in Ravenclaw?

Luna smiled at her when she looked back. "It's okay with me" She said dreamily, reading Ginny's mind. Ginny beamed at her and moved down the aisle towards the stool.

Slytherin was known for having only boys on their teams, like it helped any. Hufflepuff she felt she'd be too aggressive for. And Harry said they basically had to replace every position.

By the time she sat on the chair she was determined. Hell, she was plenty brave.

Dumbledore did the honor of placing the sorting hat on her head. "Ah! I remember you. Still clever?" The hat asked.

'More brave I think this time. Let's do Gryffindor."

'Alright then.' "Gryffindor" The hat bellowed.

 **AN- Sorry, it's about 20% shorter than I usually have for a story, but I wanted to end the chapter there. No point extending it 1000 words with nonsense just because. So there you have it. She's in Gryffindor now.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter, otherwise I would be busy travelling right now, instead of buried in snow.**

 _By the time she sat on the chair she was determined. Hell, she was plenty brave._

 _Dumbledore did the honor of placing the sorting hat on her head. "Ah! I remember you. Still clever?" The hat asked._

 _'More brave I think this time. Let's do Gryffindor."_

 _'Alright then.' "Gryffindor" The hat bellowed._

 _()()()()()()()()_

The Ravenclaw table had been poised to clap and it took a second for the Gryffindor one to pick it up. Ginny caught a glimpse of a pair of silver eyes from the Slytherin table before she chuckled as Dumbledore took the hat off her head. She made her way to Harry, Neville, Ron and Hermione as Dumbledore began again.

"It appears that Miss Weasley will be joining the Gryffindor sixth years. Now, tuck in."

"Shove a bum Neville." Ginny grinned after practically skipping her way to their little group.

Neville laughed and moved down so she could sit between he and Harry. They all grinned at her.

"Finally got your head on straight!" Ron commented and began filling up his plate.

Ginny shrugged as she sat down. "Apparently Ravenclaw was full up on Chasers." She then looked to Harry. "So, when are try-outs Captain?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

Hermione piped up before Harry could formulate a response. He was in a bit of a daze with what just happened. "You picked a house because of Quidditch? That's mad!"

"Eh. You just don't understand. And may I point out, it was a pretty brave thing to do." Then she began loading her plate.

"Wait a second. Dumbledore said you were joining the sixth years. But you're in fifth." Hermione pondered.

"No, he was right. I took my OWL's this summer." Ginny explained starting into her chicken and mashed. "After hearing about all the truly spectacular times you all have had in my absence, particularly regarding the professors for Defence, I figured it'd be a good idea to get ahead."

"But that's impossible!" Hermione said loudly.

Ginny paused with a fork almost to her mouth. "No, it's not" she said slowly. She then gestured to her person with her fork. "Exhibit A".

Hermione blushed at her over-reaction. The conversation turned to Quidditch and on to classes, then to laughing at Ginny's re-sorting. Everyone was getting quite full as dinner disappeared and the puddings arrived. "You may be mentioned in Hogwarts a History!" Hermione said excitedly.

Ginny's eyes widened. "Wicked" she said sarcastically. "Harry is down in history as the Boy Who Lived, and I will be The Girl Who Wore the Same Hat Twice!" Everyone laughed uproariously. Ginny watched and awkward exchange between Ron and Hermione when they accidentally touched hands.

She leaned over to Neville. "Did they ever?"

"They haven't the nerve to make the first move." Neville confirmed her suspicion. She nodded and tucked back into her plate.

Twenty minutes after pudding Harry and Ginny were at the pitch. "Did you know you would have to be re-sorted?" He asked her.

"No, they never said anything." She lifted her eyebrow at him and had a sly smile. "Were you hoping I would get sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Very much so." He moved towards her.

"Well once I had the opportunity I had to. I hear that Gryffindor seeker is pretty hot." She teased.

"Where did you hear that?" He laughed.

"You are clueless, aren't you? Didn't you notice all of the girls staring and whispering about you at dinner? And on the train." She shook her head at him.

He rolled his eyes. "I've learned to tune out the whispering. It's really annoying actually. And I noticed one girl staring at me when it mattered." He reached out and tucked some of her hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail.

"Guess that's all that counts. Though don't think it didn't escape me that you had been the one staring at _me_ last summer." She smiled and stood on her toes to kiss him as he blushed. He cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss. Her one hand grabbed onto his belt loop. "Okay" she pulled away. "More of that later. But right now, I want to give the Firebolt a go."

He laughed and they traded brooms. She spent a half hour trying out barrel rolls and zipping around the pitch before they both landed in the stands and sat down straddling the bench seats facing each other.

"Have you heard of the game twenty questions?" Ginny asked him.

"Yes" He smiled.

"I guess that was my first one, you next."

"Favourite Sweet?" He asked her at random.

"Dark Chocolate. Favourite class?"

"DADA, when there's a decent teacher. You?"

"Charms. I like taking things from the Muggle world and figuring out how to make a magical version. Favourite Quidditch Team?"

"Puddlemere United. What kinds of things from the Muggle world?"

"Do you know what a Walk-Man is?" He nodded "I like music, and having it to yourself in a public space is great for studying. But around magical schools the Walk-Man doesn't work. Your favourite sweet?"

"Don't have one. Not Bertie Botts though. I wasn't allowed sweets growing up with my aunt and uncle. I remember my first one though. A nurse gave me a lollipop after I got… injured. It was lemon flavored and it was amazing." He smiled to himself at the memory.

Ginny was thrown back to when she first realized that he had been mis-treated by his relatives. She remembered the disinfectant and fresh smell of that awful house he was forced to grow up in. She knew that his 'injury' may have been related to that mis-treatment. Ginny leaned forward and kissed him lightly before pulling back.

"How do you really feel about being back here?" He asked her carefully.

She sighed. "Mixed." She admitted. She took his hand. "This kind of makes it worth it." She didn't want to reflect too much on her massive realm of emotions about her life shift.

They continued asking questions, light and heavy. Trading kisses and touches until Harry had one question left. Ginny was now straddling his lap, and Harry's hands were holding her hips tightly. She kissed a trail down his neck and he was having a hard time thinking up another question for her. "Did you wind up breaking up with that boyfriend of yours after Christmas?"

Ginny's pulled back to look at him with wide eyes, surprised at his question. He seemed nervous. She smiled sweetly. "As soon as I saw him again." He relaxed. "And I tried to be as nice as possible. I think he'd kind of seen it coming." She didn't know whether to tell him the next part, but not telling him when it came to her mind seemed like hiding it, and she had enough other secrets to keep hold of. "I did wind up kissing one other person at our Quidditch Championship party. But shut it down pretty quickly." He looked hesitant to ask her something. "You aren't worried that I'd cheat on you, are you?" She asked as she slid off his lap onto the bench.

"No" He said quickly. "I don't think you just go around from guy to guy!" He defended.

"Okay. Good to know. So, what about you and Cho Chang? I remember her vaguely from way back when I was crushing it as a first year in Ravenclaw."

He cringed, and she laughed at his reaction. "She and I were a terrible combination. I told her so after the break. She insisted on going to Hogsmeade for Valentine's Day and it was a disaster. Never kissed her again though. The first time was enough." He shook with laughter too. "And thank you by the way."

"For what?"

"If you hadn't have snogged me last year, I might not have known how terrible of a kiss that was with Cho."

She smiled sticking out her tongue a bit and winked at him. "Ginny Weasley, here to help."

It was getting late so they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower where Ron and Hermione were waiting by the fire for Harry. Ginny nodded to them and went off to find her bed.

Harry had been changing out of his kit later when Ron looked over had him and asked head on "What's going on with you and my sister?"

"Uh…" Harry didn't want to lie to Ron, but he wasn't ready to be fully honest with him either. What was he going to say? 'I've been snogging her at every opportunity for the last year and fantasize about nailing her every time I wank?' "She's cool." He landed on. "I like hanging out with her. She wanted to give the Firebolt a go, so…"

Ron eyed him for a second, but didn't press the issue further. Harry caught Neville's eye and blushed. Neville looked like he was fighting a laugh.

Thankfully Seamus and Dean came into the dorm at that moment so Ron didn't catch it. "Ron! Good!" Seamus came over to sit on Ron's trunk. "Your sister mate! I mean I certainly thought she was a looker when she came tearing in here last Christmas, but she'd quite a little spitfire eh?" Seamus continued not noticing the building agitation coming off Ron in waves. "Hope you don't mind I'll be asking her out." He finished.

"Yeah I do mind!" Ron was fully red with anger. "Get off my trunk and stay away from my sister." He pushed him.

"Told you not to ask him." Dean said.

Seamus rounded on him. "If I didn't you would have."

Dean looked sheepish. Harry's jaw clenched. Ginny was his! Not his. But his girlfriend. Or… not girlfriend, but they'd promised… something. At any rate she wasn't going to do anything with these two idiots.

He looked back over at Neville who was actually laughing now, but it was at the horrified expression on Harry's face, not the now tussling three other boys. Harry was torn as to whether he should break them up, or let Ron deck them.

Neville ignored the scene and went to stand by Harry. "She'd be pissed if she found out someone had asked one of her brothers permission to date her." Neville said quietly. Harry took a little relief in that. Neville wasn't exactly who he'd ever gone to for advice on anything before, but he'd managed to maintain a pretty tight friendship with Ginny for the last four years, so in this case Harry would rely on his expertise. "And I wouldn't tell her about this." He continued, "She'd be livid. Not one to want people vying for her affection."

Harry felt a warm feeling expand in his chest. They had that in common.

()()()()()()()

Ginny and Hermione had discovered that their time tables were identical, with the exception of Hermione having two extra courses. Ginny had always suspected that Hermione prided herself of being the smartest person in the room, and was sure that if it weren't for the extra classes she was taking, she wouldn't have been so accepting of Ginny. As though the extra classes were the reason that she herself had not been able to bump up a year.

Their first potions class on the third day of the term they were stuck standing beside each other before Slughorn released them to create their potions. "How are you at Potions really?" Hermione asked her. The lilt in her voice irritated Ginny. It was like she was asking a child if they knew their colours.

"I equate it to cooking, and I'm pretty damn good at that. Though I can't just add more spice if I screw this up." She snickered. Ginny was trying really hard to move past Hermione's pedantic ways and be friendly. She was Harry's best friend, not to mention her brothers.

But Ginny had easily gotten an O on her Potions OWL, and she'd barely needed to study for it. The subject came naturally to her. Ginny took her time getting her ingredients and hoped that by the time she had everything the only cauldron left wouldn't be beside Hermione's. She was actually hoping for one near Draco Malfoys. He was in a few of her classes, but they never had an opportunity to so much as pass a note to each other, and she desperately wanted to communicate with him, about a myriad of things.

Harry and Ron had just come barreling through the door as she made her way to her cauldron. She moved two down from Hermione so they could be closer to their friend, and she could be farther away. Harry slid into the spot beside her and they gave each other small, friendly smiles.

She looked over the instructions fully before starting. Draught of the Living Death was a difficult potion. But that was mostly because the instructions were crap. She went through and adjusted them as she read through. 'Really? Cut a jumping bean? All you need is the juice. If I had a freaking garlic press, I would use that.' She thought.

She smiled when she saw Harry crushing his once he caught up to that stage. Not as big as she smiled when she'd seen Hermione struggle with her bean though.

By the end of the class Ginny's potion was acceptable, but Harry's was perfect. He won the Felix Felicis. Hermione was visibly frazzled and almost outraged that they both did better than her.

()()()()()

Harry looked around the Quidditch Pitch. First years, other house students, and giggling girls. He wanted them all banished. And Dean. He didn't know how to play, he was only there because of Ginny. It was hard enough to try and sort out the decent players, but how did he even notice them in all this chaos?

Ginny stalked up to him then. He'd been standing on his own surveying them all, not knowing where to start. "Alright there?"

"Erm…" He hesitated and chewed the inside of his cheek.

"Maybe just start with laps?" She smiled at him with eyebrows raised.

"Laps. Right." His nerves were all a jumble. He didn't know how she was always so relaxed. All of their classes together she had never appeared rattled. Slytherin girls teased her, and she had a sarcastic comment ready to throw back at them and carried on. Snape gave her a detention, and she says "Thank you sir, may I have another." He so admired her attitude.

Turning his attention back to the thirty or so people that showed up. "Right!" He yelled. "Laps. The last half not to make it round the pitch ten times can clear off. Mount your brooms. Three, two." And he blew his whistle. Ginny winked at him before she kicked off.

()()()()()()

"Well, how do you like that?" Ginny smiled as she watched Ron and Harry put the equipment away. "The Weasley Gryffindor Quidditch saga lives on." She elbowed Hermione gently. "Proud of your man there?" She teased her quietly.

Hermione blushed. "What do you mean? Ron's not my man."

Ginny put on an innocent face. "I meant Harry and his captain duties." Hermione smiled tightly and narrowed her eyes before laughing lightly.

"Yeah, I was almost sure McLaggen was going to block all those Quaffles. Didn't he look a little confounded with the last one?" Ron chirped.

Harry and Hermione shared a look, Hermione could have been a little more stealth about her confunding charm. "Either way, his loss. You were the better blocker." Ginny smiled at him. She saw the look the other two had exchanged and knew exactly what had happened as well. Ron grinned widely.

"Right then, time for the library." Hermione announced.

"What for?! It's Saturday morning!" Ron's smile was now gone.

"Potions essay!" Hermione admonished. Ron glowered and Harry and Ginny snickered. The next house try-outs were headed to the field and Ginny took off towards the showers. "Are you meeting us in the library?"

"Yeah, I just need to clean up a bit. I'll see you in about a half hour." The three nodded and headed back to the school. On her way to the showers Ginny had to pass Draco and a few other hopeful members of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He slowed down ever so slightly and they locked eyes. She noticed as he purposefully veered towards her and intentionally knocked her in the shoulder as he passed. She felt something drop into her pocket.

"Watch where you're going. I don't want any of your filth on me." He sneered. His fellow Slytherins chuckled.

"Are you sure about that? I heard you like it dirty." She walked backwards from him still headed in the direction of the change rooms. He looked shocked for a second and she winked then turned to continue on her way.

"You better watch your back." He called out to her.

"I wouldn't worry about that! Your boys seem to be watching by behind enough for the both of us." She called back with-out turning around.

Draco looked over at the other boys accompanying him, sure enough a few of them had looked slightly embarrassed.

When Ginny reached the changeroom she checked that no one else was around and pulled the parchment out of her pocket. 'Seventh floor. Barnabus the Barmy. Eight Thirty tonight.'

()()()()()()()

Ginny looked around the corridor. There were no students or professors, not even ghosts in this part of the seventh floor. She'd been waiting hidden the alcove for five minutes, may as well have been an hour with how uncomfortable it was. Finally, she heard some movement and saw his blond hair. Silently as she could she stepped into view. He regarded her for a moment and held a finger to his lips indicating she remain silent.

Ginny watched him pace back and forth with growing concern for his sanity before a door appeared on the wall across from them. He opened the door for her and closed it behind him. She took a moment to look around the room. Piles and piles of stuff was all around them. Stuff was the best description. Bloody Axes, mis-matched furniture, clothing, books, mirrors, cutlery and plenty more.

"Where are we?" She asked in awe as she examined the room.

"The Room of Requirement." He leaned back against the door and examined her.

She picked up a bent fork and observed it for a moment before turning to him. "Did you require this for an important purpose?" She smiled and tried not to laugh.

Ginny saw the corner of his mouth turn up for a millisecond. He removed it from her hand and began walking down one of the aisles of junk. "What I require is down here." He said in a pompous attitude, results of generations of high society breeding presenting itself in his stiff gait.

She trailed behind him. The piles and aisles went on in every direction. Things must have been piling up in here since Hogwarts founding. He finally came to a stop in front of a wardrobe. "This." He said.

She cautiously stepped forward and opened it. It was empty. She turned to him. Draco's face portrayed worry and confusion as he looked at the groves of the wooden cabinet. "It is a Vanishing Cabinet. It has a mate." Ginny had no idea what that meant. She'd never heard of a Vanishing Cabinet before. Draco then turned his eyes from the wardrobe to her. They stared for a few moments.

"How much did your father tell you before he was sent to Azkaban?" She asked him.

After so many years of it just being Lucius Malfoy and herself, she was silently praying that Draco knew everything so she could finally share this burden with someone. He looked like a great burden was on himself as well and he was having trouble with it.

"I only know that you had a book given to you by him when you were eleven, and because of it you turned into a great ally. Even though you were at Ilvermory. He told me we had to protect you from… Him. Made me learn Occlumency. He never gave me the full story."

Ginny leaned against the side of the cabinet. Draco found a chair across from her. "How are your skills in Occlumency then?"

"Developed. He doesn't pry very hard. He trusts my allegiance enough. Unfortunately." He sneered at the admission.

Ginny had an idea of what he meant and glanced at his right forearm. He too looked down at it and their eyes met again. "Are we going to do this? Tell each other everything?" She asked.

Draco looked hopeful for a moment, then his mask was back. "You first."

Ginny took a deep breath and turned her attention to the things surrounding him, thinking about where to start. That was when she saw the tiara. The tiara that looked a hell of a lot like Ravenclaw's Diadem, which she'd seen a bastardized version of two years ago with the Lovegood's, and on the very head of Rowena Ravenclaw's bust in the Ravenclaw common room all through her first year. Internally she groaned. She quickly moved past her 'what the fuck?!' moment and rationalized that this would in fact be a perfect hiding place for it, and Tom did love Hogwarts. If that kind of a monster were in fact capable of love anyways.

She tried to act as casual as she could when she reached for it. It felt cool to the touch and she felt very compelled to put it on her head. But that was a ridiculous thought, so she squashed the temptation. If it was a horcrux, which it probably wasn't, she would be feeling the familiar rage and fury soon enough. So, she held on to it and moved back to lean once again against the wardrobe.

"When I was eleven, your dad slipped me a diary that once belonged to Tom Riddle." She began and she told him about the power of the horcrux, the shared memories and the hatred it invoked. She explained what exactly a horcrux was. His eyes grew wider as he listened with rapt attention.

Then she told him about last year with his father and the visit to Gringotts. "I saw you then." He admitted.

Ginny started to feel angry. "You saw me there? In Malfoy Manor?"

He nodded, surprised at her tone. "I had wondered if he was holding you captive, or just getting the 'book' back. Though I highly doubted that you were being held against your will in the guest room instead of the cells in the dungeon."

She shook her head as the burning fury grew inside her. "Your home is quite awful isn't it."

He touched his forearm. "You've no idea." He stood then and began pacing. "So how many of these horcruxes do you believe there are?"

"Six, plus himself. Seven pieces of soul total." She basically spat out.

Draco stopped pacing. "And you and my father have found two?"

She couldn't take the burning rage building inside her anymore. It was getting too hard to fight the urge to lash out or put the stupid thing on. So, she placed it on the chair he'd been sitting on. Ginny almost collapsed to the ground with relief when she felt her blood melt through her body as her normal calm demeanor took over. With an uncontrollable sigh she couldn't help the satisfied smile that came to her face. She had wondered a few times if her 'c'est la vie' attitude to life in general may be in part because she knew what it was to feel rage and fury from the other two horcruxes, so nothing else was quite so irritating enough to present those emotions in her naturally.

"Yes, with the help of your father I've taken care of two of them." She pulled the Basilisk venom from her pocket. "You may want to step back."

Ginny had figured it was better to be safe than sorry when it comes to an interlude with a Malfoy and brought the vial with her. Three drops were all it took and after a horrifying scream and the familiar billows of black smoke the diadem was a horcrux no more.

She turned back to Draco. "I find these in the oddest places." She used a quick cleaning spell and transfigured the tiara into a pendant of the same design.

As she removed her necklace Draco asked. "That was another one?" She nodded and added it to the chain. "How do you know?"

"Tom was obsessed with the Hogwarts founders." She held up her necklace that was now back around her neck. "This" she held her new tiara pendant "was Ravenclaws Diadem."

Draco came to her and he ran a finger down the chain, then touched the other pendant "Hufflepuffs Cup." He moved on to another one "Tom Riddles diary." And then he touched the fourth one. She hadn't told him about that one.

"Slytherin's locket." She told him.

Neither of them realized how close they were now standing until his head shot up to look her in the eyes in shock. He then noticed that his hand was almost touching her breast and he dropped the necklace taking a step back.

She took a moment to steady herself from their close contact. "You may have noticed while I told you my story, I was growing more and more agitated." He nodded. "That was the influence of the horcrux."

They settled themselves on the floor as the only chair had just had Basilisk venom dropped on it.

"The feeling of rage and fury that the horcrux gives you is rather overwhelming, and it just keeps building. I felt it with the diary, I felt it now with the diadem, and I felt it with the locket." She studied the locket pendant. "I feel like I keep finding them by fluke. I actually put the locket on as a joke. I had no idea what it was until a few hours later when I flew into a rage at my mother."

"So, you've basically killed the darkest wizard of our time four times over?" Draco more stated than asked. "How? What was that that you used?"

"Basilisk venom." She smiled. "Fitting for destroying a Parselmouth, no?" Draco actually smiled back at her. His masked expression that was his new face to the world was slipping. He was beginning to be his actual self around her. Ginny looked up at the vanishing cabinet. "That was my story. Your turn."

Draco crossed his stretched out legs and picked up a book that was laying on the floor to fiddle with as he readied himself to tell his tale. "When I was headed into my third year I was tasked with getting the diary from you. Though never told what it was. It took me weeks to figure out where you'd disappeared to." He smiled slightly and shook his head. "Then when we saw you again at the Quidditch World Cup I think both my father and I were in shock. Especially when you smirked at us." He added pointedly. Ginny glowed a bit at the memory. "But after the game my mother and I were sent home immediately. I worried that the Death Eater attack was created as a diversion for my father to try and find the diary without his other Death Eater cohorts noticing. He certainly came home later looking worried. He said nothing to me though."

"It wasn't until the following summer when he explained that the Dark Lord was in fact back, and Potter told the truth. I asked him about you then, but he didn't say anything. He just forced me to take Occlumency lessons. He had eluded to the fact that we aren't in agreement with what He sees for the future of our world. But at that point it was do or die for my family. It still is." Again, he touched his arm.

Slowly Ginny rose to her knees and crawled over to him. He simply watched while she took his arm in her hands and slowly pulled up his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark. He shivered as her fingers delicately traced around the perimeter of the brand. "Punishment for my father's failure." He said morosely. "To be seen as a privilege."

"What happened at the ministry?" She released his arm and sat down beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

"From what I can tell, after your father's attack, _He_ realized that Potter was linked to him somehow, and used that to project scenarios. A loved one at the ministry being tortured. He desperately wants a prophecy and only Potter can get it. I don't know how Potter knew not to go, but somehow he found out the image was a lie. Apparently even the loved one's house elf had been compromised by us. But…" He shrugged. "And so, the Auror's descended on the ministry, a fight ensued and He was seen, now my father is locked up with the Dementors." Ginny knew how Harry found out Sirius wasn't at the ministry, but that wasn't her story to tell. "Now it is up to me to prove the Malfoy family loyalty."

"And that brings us to this?" She asked pointing to the cabinet again.

"A vanishing cabinet is made in pairs. It creates a passageway between them. It isn't susceptible to wards. This one is currently damaged, but its mate is at Borgin and Burks in Knocturn Alley."

Ginny's breath quickened. "You are tasked with fixing it and getting others into the school?"

He nodded. "And…" He continued and trembled slightly. She said nothing. He took a few moments to compose himself before whispering. "Kill Dumbledore."

 **AN- And now we let the games begin.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter, never will.**

Draco had actually broken down his emotional walls after confessing all to Ginny. She didn't see him as a Death Eater, or a foe, just as a sixteen-year-old boy with the lives of his parents resting in his hands. A sixteen-year-old boy with an impossible task.

She held him while he fell apart. He let her. She knew what it felt like to try to maintain your composure all the time. But she was given opportunities for release. She'd broken and repaired everything in her old dorm room while Megan was out three times over. Ginny became very good at silencing spells. She'd also had her boyfriends to snog her frustration out with. And Quidditch. But she'd never been forced to kill someone on threat of death.

They'd fallen asleep on the floor embracing.

Ginny was the first to wake. The weight of his head on her chest was making it hard to breath regularly. Surveying the situation before moving to wake him she realized how this would look to anyone else.

A boy and girl, out for who knows how many hours, sleeping basically cuddled together. But they had both needed last night, and nothing romantic had transpired between them, no matter how warm she now felt towards him with their shared secrets. And surprisingly comfortable, despite his weight. He kind of just fit nicely against her.

"Draco" she nudged him. "Wake up."

He groaned slightly and sat up. They both stretched out their muscles from sleeping in such and awkward position.

"I'm sorry." He was apologizing for his break-down, not burying his head in her chest all night. She saw the self-doubt in his eyes.

"You've nothing to be sorry for." His eyes turned to her confused. She smiled at him softly. "We're confidants now. And I'm going to help you figure out how to deal with this if I can."

He looked like he wanted to smile, but still wasn't quite comfortable with just how much he had let himself go. "What time is it?" He then checked his watch. "Four a.m."

They both groaned. "Man, I'm hungry." She said.

Coffee and croissants appeared. They gave each other a look before laughing.

While they ate their breakfast, they formulated a plan on how to meet up again without getting caught with each other. If spontaneous meetings didn't occur, they would set a time. For right now he would stay in the room for a few more hours. Ginny could claim she'd stumbled upon a 'lounge' to do her homework and fell asleep if anyone noticed her absence and wanted to know where she'd spent the night. Though she'd come straight from hanging out at Ravenclaw before meeting with Draco, so hopefully she wouldn't be questioned.

Ginny felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She'd finally shared her story. But at the same time, now she had Draco's story and felt part of his burden. He couldn't possibly kill Dumbledore. He's a teenager, Dumbledore was a million and a half years-old with a hell of a lot of experience. There were only two things that could be done, either he runs away and goes into hiding, or they kill Voldemort. The bastard was more than half dead already, and she was pretty sure the snake, Nagani was another horcrux.

Killing Nagani she would feel a little bad about. Tom had mentioned her through his diary. Nagani was a Maledictus. A cursed human that became a snake. Killing her might be what Nagani wants though. Ginny reasoned that if she'd been forced into a life trapped as a 'pet' and used to do terrible things she would choose death also.

This they had discussed. Draco reasoned that if a piece of soul could be put into a person or object, then it may be able to be moved out. However odds of them having time with the beast in order to perform that ritual, or whatever it would take/be called, would be slim to none. It was worth looking into, and Ginny wished she would have thought of it before destroying important historical artifacts.

Ginny shifted her shoulder bag as she left the girls loo on the way to the library. She felt grimy in her clothes and cast a freshening charm on them. Her assignments were almost all completed, but she figured if her cover story for last night was falling asleep doing homework, then she may as well finish it all.

She probably wouldn't have needed a cover story if she was still in Ravenclaw house. Luna wouldn't have asked anything it was her intuitive nature just to know that Ginny wasn't wanting to tell, and Hestia and Norma wouldn't have cared enough to comment. Hermione on the other hand, she'd probably go on about it being against the rules to be out of bed. And so, she thought it best to just put off the conversation until later. So, off to the library she went.

()()()()()()()

Draco was feeling a mix of relief and embarrassment, as well as a slew of other emotions. She'd not chastised him for his breakdown, and he hadn't had a second thought in the moment about hugging her back as she held him while he sobbed.

Sobbed.

He was so angry at himself for allowing it, but waking up with her he felt better than he could ever remember. She had been so comforting. He couldn't help but notice how fit she was, how warm, and that her hair wasn't quite the same awful red as her brothers. She was actually quite pretty. Earlier the previous day when Ginny had called Zabini and Avery on staring at her arse, Draco had allowed himself the opportunity to check it out as well.

He saw sure he'd managed to hide his 'reaction' from her after he woke-up, knowing it was a little more than simple morning wood. It'd been a while since he'd had the emotional range to wank, and with his brand on his arm he couldn't just roll in the sack with anyone, so it'd been months since he'd managed a lay.

He stayed in the room after she'd left, surveying the cabinet. The exterior looked to be undamaged. He placed an apple on the shelf inside, closed the door and muttered the spell. The apple was gone.

Draco sighed. Now he had to await an owl to tell him if it appeared on the other side. He pulled out his homework and went through the motions of completing an essay, but he couldn't stop thinking about Ginny's story.

How in the hell does she remain so calm and happy with what she'd been dealing with? How had his father been the only other who'd known? She hadn't even really told father anything. Just destroyed another horcrux and carried on with her day, and Lucius his.

But now, knowing that Voldemort was being destroyed piece by piece without him knowing, Draco couldn't help how happy that made him. And happy was not a feeling he was used to. Laughing with Ginny that morning had been therapeutic. The image of her smiling with her mussed-up hair and ruffled clothes warmed him. He wanted to lick her bottom lip.

Shaking his head at that thought he tossed his books back into his bag. He wasn't going to get anything productive done before a hot shower and a good wank. 'Maybe the next time we pull an all-nighter I can convince her to come back to the prefects bathroom with me?' he thought. Again, he shook his head.

He couldn't deny now that she was definitely in the tip five of females at school he'd love to get in the sheets, but their relationship was too important to mess up. He'd watched her turn down a few guys that had tried hitting on her already. She wasn't easy. Anything that could develop in that way would be incredibly complicated. Neither of them had the head space for that he reasoned.

By the time he had made it to the prefects bathroom he had built up a hot little fantasy of what he would have done to her in the Room of Requirement if the room had offered up a bed for them. Fantasy Ginny had been more than willing and enthusiastic.

The rest of Draco's day had been very productive. Twice over.

()()()()()()()()

"Ron!"

"Merlin, Hermione. What?" Ron had just gotten down the stairs and was not yet completely awake. So Hermione pouncing on him at the first opportunity was not what he'd been expecting.

"Ginny didn't come back to the dorm last night."

"What?" The cobwebs were still clearing out of the recesses of his brain.

"Ginny. I don't know where she is." She was worked up and very tired. She'd been working on her assignments until past ten and been up until midnight with Harry discussing his meeting with Dumbledore. Harry'd asked about the Weasley siblings, Hermione knew Ron had gone up to bed after rounds, and assumed Ginny was in her bed too. But when she went up to bed herself Ginny's curtains were open and her bed was empty.

Instead of saying anything she'd tossed and turned all night. When Lavender woke-up she giggled and started guessing at who Ginny might be seeing. But Ginny didn't seem the type to her.

Ron stared at her a moment then abruptly turned and ran back up the stairs. Hermione followed him to the boy's dorm and Ron had thrown open Harry's trunk by the time she got there.

"What's going on?" Harry drew back his curtain and relaxed his wand as he saw it was just his friends.

"Ginny didn't sleep in her bed last night."

"What? Was she in the Ravenclaw dorms?" They both paused and looked at him confused. "Don't, erm, don't girls have sleep overs?" He asked Hermione lamely.

"Oh." Hermione and Ron both relaxed. "That makes much more logical sense than…" Hermione suddenly remembered herself and glanced at Ron embarrassed. "Never mind. You're right Harry. She was probably with Luna."

"What were you thinking?" Ron asked her sharply.

Hermione blushed. "At first I had, you know, safety concerns. But then when Lavender woke-up and noticed the empty bed… she sort of giggled, and…"

Harry felt his heart sink at the implication. 'No, no. There's no way. She wouldn't' he thought. Then for a wild moment he remembered how last Christmas she wasn't actually single when they fooled around.

Ron's head whipped around to look at Seamus and Dean's beds, which were now unoccupied.

"Ron!" Hermione yelled at him. "Do you really think that if she were that type of girl. Which. She. Isn't." She poked him with each word. "That she'd be doing that in _your_ dorm room?" Ron's ears tinged pink.

"Why don't we just find her?" Harry suggested trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach. He for one hoped that if she was 'that type of girl' that she _would_ in fact be doing it in Ron's dorm room. In his bed. With a sticking charm on the curtains and a silencing spell.

He grabbed the Marauders Map from under his pillow. Hermione scanned the Great Hall, it was difficult with all the students. The names were almost on top of one another. Ron scanned the Ravenclaw dorms. Harry finally found her walking down a corridor. It looked like she was headed back to Gryffindor Tower. And she was alone. Ron and Hermione went back down to the common room and Harry changed quickly to join them.

Ginny felt ready to take a nap by the time she made it through the portrait hole. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and she had a pen stuck in it. Her freshening charm had worn off and it was only nine am. She'd been in the library since six. But all of her homework was done, and her shower was beckoning.

Except now the Golden Trio was blocking her path. Ron looked furious.

"Um… Good morning?" She offered.

"Where were you?" he demanded.

"Excuse me?" She asked slightly offended.

"Hermione said you weren't in your bed all night, so where were you?"

Ginny looked to Hermione who was blushing and remaining silent. Harry was also silent and looked awkward, like he also wanted to ask her, but didn't quite know how.

Now Ginny was not known for her temper. While the rest of the Weasley family could fly off the handle, Ginny would generally laugh or shrug things off. But she was tired, felt gross, was ready for a second breakfast and now annoyed. She set her bag down in the closest chair and crossed her arms glaring at Ron. The red in Ron's cheeks turned from an angry red to a sheepish pink before she'd even opened her mouth.

Quietly and clearly Ginny's voice was heard for all the stragglers in the common room that were now listening in. "So, let me get this right. You weren't concerned with me my entire first year of Hogwarts, in fact you barely acknowledged my existence then. And you weren't bothered with me my last three years of Ilvermory, which is proven in the number of owls I received from you. And I promise you, I didn't spend every night over the last three years in my bed, some of them I did spend in a boy's room." She winked at him exaggeratedly. She wasn't going to clarify that it had been Ethan's room and she was on the floor. "But I am in Gryffindor for two weeks and I fall asleep somewhere other than my bed for one night and suddenly you are playing the big brother card?"

Ron looked like he'd swallowed his tongue. In almost a whisper Hermione asked. "So… where did you sleep?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at her. "Where was it you all were assuming I slept? And please fill me in on who it was you think I was with." She shifted her eyes to Harry. She was hurt that he might have thought she was cheating on him.

"Well Harry thought you might have been in Ravenclaw. You know, with Luna." Hermione offered quickly.

Ginny's eyes softened on him, and then she turned to Ron. "And you?"

"Doesn't matter." He looked at his feet.

"You're right. It doesn't. So, I'm going to take a shower and a nap. In my bed. Just in case you're worried about my whereabouts." She grabbed her bag and walked around them.

"Wait. You still didn't tell us." Ron exclaimed.

"Well there's a pile of shit you three don't tell me. I deal with that just fine, so you can find a way to deal with this."

They watched her stomp off and disappear up to the girl's dormitory.

"So, she probably wasn't with a guy, right?" Ron asked Hermione.

Hermione gave him an exasperated look. "Ron, she had her school bag and a pen in her hair. She was probably out doing assignments and fell asleep somewhere."

"She was in the library this morning." Came the small voice of a second year that was sitting two tables away. "She was cursing about having to do Snape's assignments with parchment and quill."

The trio smiled to themselves at that. The three of them had learned that Ginny preferred pen and paper. Snape was the only professor that refused to grade her assignments if they were handed in that way. "We owe her a big apology." Hermione told them.

"Well, maybe you should have checked with her before getting us all worried." Ron accused her.

"What?!" She screeched.

Harry groaned and rubbed his forehead. He knew they were going to bicker all through breakfast. And they did.

He distracted himself from them by trying to figure out how to get her alone so they could go over what happened as a couple. They'd been together for two weeks and hadn't had proper alone time since the first night at school. He had though the sneaking around thing would be hot, but it was too hard with Ron and Hermione keeping tabs on not only him, but Ginny too.

They didn't want anyone having expectations for what them being a couple would mean, but they couldn't get any time together if others didn't know. He would have loved to wrap his arms around her when she'd walked into the common room earlier, kissed her tired eyes.

At least all this was distracting him from his meeting with Dumbledore last night.

Harry understood that he was being shown as much of Voldemort's past as was available to Dumbledore because it would somehow help him defeat him. But it didn't make any sense as of yet. How exactly would seeing snippets of Voldemort's mum and grandfather help bring him to his end? And why did Dumbledore have the Gaunt family ring? "Harry?" Hermione loudly got his attention.

"Yeah? What?"

"We're going to finish our Charms assignment. Are you coming?"

()()()()()()()

It was lunch time when Ginny came down from the girl's dorm. To Harry she looked radiant. To Ron, she looked scary.

"Ginny!" Hermione called her over. Ginny sat in the vacant chair beside her and raised her eyebrows at Hermione with puckered lips. "I am so sorry. I just got worried. I mean, I know you don't need us looking out for you. But I consider you a good friend and I care about you."

Ginny still said nothing. But she did have an amused smile on her face. "Yeah, and I know you weren't off shagging some guy." Ron added quietly.

Ginny raised her eyebrows even higher and began nodding her head at him in a disbelieving manner at him, her smile getting a little wider.

"Did you want help with the Charms essay?" Hermione asked brightly.

"I've finished it."

"Oh. That's good. Transfiguration then?"

"I've finished that too."

"Runes?" Hermione asked meekly. They all knew this was how Hermione truly apologized.

"Hermione I've finished all of my assignments, and done the reading for the next two weeks." Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Would you like help with your homework?" She asked sweetly.

"But… when did you have time to do all that? You had Quidditch practice yesterday!"

Ginny couldn't help but laugh outright at Hermione then. The boys did as well. Ginny placed a comforting hand on Hermione's arm. "I haven't got prefects rounds, and I have two less courses than you. You will catch up. Don't worry." Hermione blushed and looked at a loss for words.

"Mione, Ginny passed all her OWLs a year ahead of time, you didn't think she would be stupid and lazy, did you?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, not all Weasleys are that way." Ginny stuck her tongue out at him.

Harry settled back in his seat feeling satisfied with the resolved situation. It looked like all was forgiven. "Lunch?" He asked Ginny.

"Absolutely, I was ready for second breakfast before my nap." They both stood up and Ron stood too.

Hermione grabbed his shirt sleeve though to stop him. "Ron, you are almost done your essay. Three more inches and I'll go with you." Ron grumbled and sat back down, so Harry and Ginny left.

They walked silently in step with each other until the third floor when Ginny grabbed his hand and pulled him into an empty disused classroom. Harry opened his mouth to apologize again for what happened, but Ginny grabbed his collar and pulled his lips down on hers before he could get a word in.

All thoughts left his head then and he groaned as she pressed her body up against his. Her delicious lips moved soft and deliberately against his as her hand snuck into his hair and the other across his shoulder down his back. His hands went to her hips and be backed her up against the wall. Their lips moved together playing with the different pressures and discovering each other's likes once more.

He brought his hand up to cup the side of her head while he ran kisses down the side of her neck. Her reaction to this the last time had created a sound that went directly from her lips to his groin, and he craved it. He was not disappointed. Ginny's moan was sensual and he felt the blood leave his head as his body reacted to hers.

His hands ran up and down her sides and she lost control slowly. The sensation his mouth was eliciting made her head roll back and her hips rocked forward and he cupped her bum. He lifted her slightly so she could wrap her legs around him. As he gripped her thigh, she pulled on his hair to bring his mouth back to hers. His rocking movement ground the shaft of his erection against her center, had they not been wearing trousers he wouldn't have been able to control himself at all.

He groaned loudly as she broke their lips apart to bury her head in the crook of his neck as she rocked back against him. He couldn't hold her up any longer. The adrenaline rushing through his system was making him light headed. He looked over to his left and saw a table, but as soon as he pulled away from the wall her legs slipped from around him.

"Ow!" Ginny exclaimed. Her back had traced down the wall a bit. They both stopped and stared at each other breathing hard. "That was… um." She swallowed deeply.

"I… That was… we just." He managed.

"Got a little carried away." It was only about five minutes that had slipped by them and they wound up dry humping against the castle wall. He took a step back, not sure if she wanted to continue as much as he did.

"So, this whole sneaking around thing?" He began.

She let out a single laugh. "You hate it?"

"Yeah."

She hummed and stepped into his embrace to hug him nuzzling into his chest. It was such a tender gesture of comfort such as Harry had never felt before. His heart slowed right down as he relaxed into the feeling. "You think I'm worth all the trouble if we tell?" She smiled.

He chuckled lightly. "I think being able to touch you and talk to you in public and not having to explain why I want to spend time alone with you is absolutely worth it."

"Mmmkay." She could have stood there hugging him for the rest of the day. "But right now. Lunch?"

He kissed the top of her head, and took her hand. They headed for the door. "Maybe we just won't mention it to your mum right away?"

()()()()()()()()()

That evening when Ginny got back to her dormitory she found all the other sixth year Gryffindor girls were already there. "It isn't fair!" Lavender was saying rather whiningly as she entered. She and Parvati were standing in front of Hermione's four-poster and they all turned to Ginny as she entered the room.

Lavender and Parvati both looked angry with her, and Hermione looked apologetic.

"All right, what's wrong." Ginny rolled her eyes. Lavender and Parvati were exactly like Megan had been when it came to the flare for dramatics.

"You need to pick one!" Parvati accused her. She stepped towards Ginny and pointed her finger in a threatening manner.

Ginny was taken aback. Her eyes widened with surprise and confusion, with a dash of amusement. "One what?"

"One guy!" Lavender answered in a shriek. "This has gone on long enough. I thought that you not being here this morning meant that you'd finally done it. But it has been a nearly a month now. Just pick one so they won't all be ignoring the rest of us."

Ginny's mouth hung open in shock. She looked back and forth between Lavender and Parvati a few times before her eye's rested on Hermione, who looked about ready to laugh. Hermione may annoy her fairly regularly, but she was by far easier to get along with than the other two. Plus, there was the fact that they had actually bonded somewhat over the years. She really must have suffered living with only the two of them the past five years.

Ginny started laughing. Lavender and Parvati looked thoroughly offended by her reaction, which made Ginny laugh even harder. Tears were leaking out of her eyes and she had to rest on the floor to try and get a grip of herself. "You think I'm distracting all of your boy's do you?" She managed through her giggles.

"Yes! Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to try and get Seamus to bite?" Parvati snarled. "But he doesn't notice, because he's too busy trying to make you laugh."

"And Ernie probably wouldn't even respond if I slipped him a love potion. You can't just keep leading them on like this!" Lavender was going very red in the face.

That sobered Ginny up quickly. Angered her too. She hadn't been leading anyone on. She'd just been herself, and she had a boyfriend! Not that anyone knew, but she and Harry had discussed telling everyone. Accusing her of stealing the affections of _their boys_ was not acceptable. She stood up straight and went to Lavender until they were nose to nose. "Let's get one thing straight right now. I have NOT been leading anyone on. If the idiot boys that you're interested in have deluded themselves into thinking that then that is their problem."

She turned to Parvati. "I have no interest in Seamus, or Ernie. And I will certainly not be _picking one_ just because the two of you, or any other girls at this school, feel I've been monopolizing the male population." Ginny glanced over to Hermione who looked rather proud of her. That spurred her on to finish telling the two off.

Lavender, who had gone as red as Ginny's hair, cut her off before she start again. "You aren't even that pretty." She said, as though that would put Ginny in her place.

"Thanks Lavender." She deadpanned. "And, by the way, the only reason that those boys might at all be interested in me is because I'm new, and I haven't been acting like the simpering idiots the two of you parade around as for God knows how long."

"How dare you." Parvati looked about ready to slap her.

"She's not wrong." Hermione chimed in. She had gotten up off her bed and stood beside Ginny as a show of solidarity. "You two barely do anything except giggle. Apparently that's not grabbing the boys attention, why not try doing something at requires some neurons?"

Parvati and Lavender looked at each other. Clearly, they didn't know what 'neurons' were.

"Shut up, Hermione." Parvati said. "It isn't like being a bossy know-it-all is helping you get anyone. Krum was obviously under some kind of love potion when he asked you to the Yule ball."

Ginny stood in front of Hermione to get in Parvati's face. "Sounds like you are actually jealous of Hermione. Didn't your date ignore you after the first obligatory dance?" Parvati's brown skin tinged slightly pink. Ginny had had enough of this. She sighed and relaxed. "Look you two. What would happen if I do hook up with some guy and the two of you _still_ don't make headway with Seamus and Ernie?" They looked at each other and chewed their lips, eyebrows creasing in slightly worried. "Really. Guys are easy. Less giggling, more talking. The majority of the male population has a rather intimate relationship going on with their right hand. And the only one's that don't are left handed. They are all panting to have some girl show genuine interest in them, you just have to go about it the right way." Ginny smiled conspiratorially.

The three girls' eyes went wide with understanding at her 'boys and their wanking' comment.

"Trust me, I have six older brothers, and two male best friends. Guys are not that complicated. You want one then try sitting next to him and find a reason to put your hand on his leg. Tell him he's funny. If he considers you even slightly attractive, which the _three_ of you are, then he'll pay more attention to you. Take it from there."

"But I _always_ laugh at Seamus' jokes!" Parvati whined. "He barely even looks at me!" Gone was the anger and accusations. Now it seemed she was desperate for Ginny's help with wooing the Irish man.

"How many other people are also laughing at Seamus' jokes when you are?" Ginny asked. Parvati pondered for a moment, then looked put out. "Be verbal. Hell, Seamus was jumping up and down last year when I accidentally made a pass at him, he'd eat you right up if he knew you were truly interested."

Hermione laughed. She had heard the story of last Christmas from Ron and Harry. Ron had been very angry with Seamus about the misinterpretation of Ginny's request for a month after that.

"Okay, what else?" Parvati asked eagerly.

Ginny rolled her eye's and sighed. Looked like it was time for 'girl talk'. This was exactly why she preferred male friends. Luna, as daft as she appeared, was at least direct. Her version of 'making a move' on Neville had been to tell him that his lips looked lovely, and she'd very much like to taste them. Direct, to the point, and what available heterosexual guy was going to say no?


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter. (Am I really required to do this every chapter? *raspberry*)**

 **Warning. There's some light smut ahead.**

The last day of September the 6th years were sat in DADA for their last class of the day and Snape was late. This was a very rare occurrence. But the Slytherin's and the Gryffindors in the same room unsupervised was never a good idea, and they now had been waiting five minutes. Parkinson had made rude remarks to Hermione, Ron had attempted to rattle Draco when Zabini jumped in, and Ginny had grabbed Harry's hand under the table to stop him from joining in.

All hell was about to break loose when Ginny felt a vibration against her leg. "Oh! That feels weird." She said aloud to herself reaching into her pocket to pull out her two-way mirror. Ethan as smiling sleepily at her. "Let me guess. Megan's a bitch?" She joked.

He laughed. "Yes, we broke up. Again." He wiped sleepers out of his eye.

"And I get to be the first to say 'I told you so'?" She grinned excitedly.

He nodded and yawned, stretching so she caught sight of his messy dorm room. "That's not why I'm calling you though."

Ginny hadn't noticed that everyone in the class was now silent and paying attention to her call. "What's up?"

"Jason proposed to his girlfriend, and they set a date for the wedding." Ginny stared at him a moment. Jason was sixteen. He hadn't been seeing anyone when she left, so how and why was he getting married? "My brother Jason, not your ex." Ethan clarified at her expression.

"Oh!" She laughed. "Whew, that makes so much more sense. Congrats. You'll be an uncle in no time. When's the wedding?"

"New Years Eve, apparently we all need another reason to get drunk on that day."

Ginny chuckled. "And not that I'm not happy to see you, but I am in class, so why is this important for me to know right away?"

"Because I get a plus one, so arrange a portkey and be my wingman. I want to get wasted and wind up with Jennifer the hot sister and bridesmaid by the morning. Great way to start the new year!" Ginny was silent. She stared at Ethan, taking in his words. Go to America for part of Christmas break. Be with Ethan and his family again. Slowly she smiled and felt a tickling sensation in her sinuses. "What's going on with your face? Why are you going red?" He asked.

She cleared her throat and realized she was on the precipice of letting tears out. "Shut up! I am not going red. Must be the distance distorting my face."

He gave her a disbelieving and amused expression. "So you'll come? I only get one plus one, and I'm totally _not_ bringing a date!"

Ginny laughed. She knew what he meant. "Yes, I'll come!"

"Good. Do you need to clear it with your folks? Or your boyfriend?" He pried.

Ginny smiled widely and rolled her eyes. Then noticed how silent the room was. Snape still wasn't there, but everyone had been eavesdropping. "Uh, I gotta go."

"Cool. Talk later. Love you!" He said in a sing-song voice.

"Yeah, me too." And she swiped to return the two-way to its mirror state, placing it back in her pocket. "Well, don't all stop bickering on my account." She addressed the class, flipping open her text book.

"What was that?" Blaise Zabini asked.

"My friend Ethan."

"No. The object"

"It's a secret. If I told you I'd have to kill you." She winked.

"You have a boyfriend?" Hermione asked confused. Ginny noticed her eye's dart over to Harry quickly and wondered if she knew something was up between them.

Ginny gave her an annoyed look. "Did I say that? Or is it more likely that Ethan was teasing me?"

"Why is everybody staring at Miss Weasley?" Snape drawled as he glided into the room silently. "Is it because she is the only one that appears to be revising?"

The class snapped forward and pulled out their books. Ginny and Harry shared a discrete look.

It had been two weeks since they talked about sharing their relationship with Ron and Hermione, but the timing never seemed right. And the more they put it off, the more it seemed they were able to sneak around.

Harry showed her his invisibility cloak and every time the two others had prefects rounds they'd find an abandoned spot to snog in. Neville had caught them once in the boy's dorm, they had been fully dressed, but they were in Harry's bed and his hand had been sneaking higher up her skirted leg, they had gotten carried away. He had just chuckled and told them to put a sock on the door. Plus, there was the added bonus that Neville already knew about them.

After Quidditch practices Ginny would help with the plays, just the two of them, and they sat beside each other for most of their shared classes. They were no longer in a hurry anymore to tell.

She was also hesitant to tell anyone until she'd sorted out her emotions in regards to him. She wanted to snog him all the time, loved it when he touched her, but whenever they were nearing the end of their little 'hang outs' it always started to feel wrong. Like she was doing something she really shouldn't have. She would shake herself out of it after, the feeling would go away almost immediately. Harry was great all around, what could possibly be wrong?

Harry, for his part, was starting to feel mixed about whether to tell her about the prophecy and why he was having meetings with Dumbledore. She knew they happened, he told her when as well. But it could be dangerous for her to know about Voldemort. He didn't want her to have to deal with that.

She had been on his side about the possibility of Malfoy being a Death Eater when Ron and Hermione objected to the assumption. Though she sited that it made logical sense and didn't seem like it was something to hold against him. She'd shut him up with her mouth once when he was arguing that Draco Malfoy was an evil wizard.

He felt normal around her. But there was so much to her that he didn't know. Like that she had a two-way mirror with Ethan. That was a surprise.

After a late Quidditch practice one evening they were walking back to the school together. Ron had bolted off to the kitchens immediately and they had both stayed to shower. Separately. This was two days after the DADA call and they hadn't had alone time since.

"So. Do you think I need to ask my boyfriend's permission to go to America for New Year? He may have been hoping to do the whole 'kissing at midnight' thing." She joked.

Harry laughed. "I don't know. Is he the dominating type or the understanding type?"

"Very understanding."

"I think that might be in part due to the fact that Ethan is very uninterested in bringing a 'date' to the wedding. So, he called on you." Harry teased.

It was Ginny's turn to laugh. She wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed him. "Ron and Hermione have a meeting then rounds on Friday night." She said suggestively as she pulled back.

He hummed and kissed her again. "Oh shit. I have a meeting with Dumbledore at the same time."

"Bummer"

"Yeah." He sighed.

"Care to find an empty classroom on the way back to the Tower then?" She whispered.

They had thought there was no one around. But Draco Malfoy had caught their embrace through a window on the third floor.

It may have been dark, but he had been waiting for her return from the pitch to attempt arranging another meeting in the Room. The rest of the Gryffindor team had come back save her and Potter. Seeing them together like that had been a knife to the gut. He had no claim to her, he had no intention of making a claim to her, but to see her with Potter?

Their rivalry had been going on since they met, and now stupid scarhead had his hands on the one person he now trusted more than anyone. Someone he had been himself with. Fuck, he had _cried_ in front of her! It wasn't fair. Nothing was fucking fair. He certainly didn't need another reason to be jealous of that bastard.

His lip curled of its own accord. He stomped off to Slytherin without a second thought. He was fuming.

Once in the dungeons he was headed to his room, but before he even made it to the common room he heard the familiar annoying voice of Pansy Parkinson. "Hey Drakkie."

He barely controlled his urge to snarl at her, but then he took in her appearance. Her shirt was tight with several of the top buttons undone displaying her chest, and her skirt was well shorter than the uniform required. She was smiling at him in that way that he knew meant she wanted him to want her. She clasped her hands behind her and batted her lashes, clearly she was trying to portray herself as an innocent, but fuckable, girl. It was not something she could pull off convincingly. Well, maybe the fuckable part, she was known to ease an urge or two around the Slytherin dorms for any guy that had enough prestige behind his surname.

Right now, he definitely wanted something to distract his mood, so he grabbed her by the elbow and guided her to the nearest broom closet and locked and silenced the door. "Drakkie?" She asked smiling in a way he supposed was intended to be sultry. He shut her up by pushing her back up against the wall and pressing himself against her, locking their lips. He hadn't had her before, but he knew she'd been trying. Months of pouts, and hands on his leg, shoulders, anywhere she could touch in public. It had been more irritating than arousing.

She whimpered against him in an approving way and ran her hands over his back, pulling him closer. He grabbed her thigh and pulled one of her legs around him grinding into her. She rocked against him and he hissed. His fingers ran over her knickers enticing them to get damp.

He kept assaulting her mouth with as much expertise as he cared to waste on her at that moment. She was eager for it, but he wouldn't pull away for fear that she might start saying things. Finally he was fully hard and she was damp. He waited for her to indicate that she was willing. He didn't have to wait long before she grabbed at his belt.

He dropped her leg and made quick work of his trousers and grabbed both her legs to wrap them around him. Some slight fumbling and he slid her knickers to the side and didn't slow down before pushing his length into her. "Ah fuck" His head rolled back at the sensation. She was so hot and tight. He set a fast pace driving her into the wall with no concern for how it must have felt for her.

She was simply a means to an end. "Oh, Drake." She simpered as he slammed into her. He was thoroughly aggravated and needed to take it out on something, or someone in this case. He was trying to call up an image in his head of who he'd rather be in this broom closet with at that moment. He couldn't do that effectively if she was yammering on with what she thought he might want to hear. He knew this wasn't good enough for her to elicit and 'Oh Drake' response.

"No talking" He grabbed her hips and drove into her harder until he came. He rested his head on her shoulder after he peaked. He felt marginally better now.

The instant he started softening he pulled out of her, essentially dropping her to the floor and doing up his trousers. "Thanks for that." He said and cast the contraceptive charm on her.

"Wait? What?" She was still sitting on the floor. "Drakkie?" She called as he opened the door and left her there unsatisfied.

That was one way to get around someone seeing his Dark Mark during coitus. Although he was pretty sure she wouldn't let him use her as a cock sleeve again.

He straightened out his clothes and went to his dorm. Tomorrow he would have to figure out how to meet up with Ginny.

Crabbe was in the dorm room when he got there. He handed him a scrap of parchment. "Owl came for you."

' _RoR Fri 7p- G'_

'Guess that's one way to do it' he thought and climbed into bed.

()()()()()()

"So, you're screwing Potter then?"

He couldn't help himself. The second the door closed it spewed out of him. He hadn't been intending to bring it up. He really didn't want the details, but it bothered him.

She stilled and turned to survey him. 'Guess Harry and I weren't as careful as I though.' Ginny thought to herself. Draco seemed entirely agitated. "I'm not screwing anybody. But I am sneaking around with Harry." She admitted.

Draco's initial impulse was to make a rude comment about playing for both sides, but the first part of her response replayed in his head. He looked her up and down. "Are you a virgin?" She laughed. He'd overheard her conversation with her friend Ethan. He'd heard the parts about an ex-boyfriend, a wedding, and helping Ethan get lucky. And he drew a conclusion from that.

"Yes I am. Not planning on changing that soon." She turned and made her way through the aisles to the wardrobe.

"How long have you and Potter been sneaking around?"

"Why do you care? I don't want to know about who you're banging in the dungeons." She dismissed.

He thought briefly of how Pansy had been sure to follow him around since that two days ago in the broom closet, hoping for another chance apparently, and sulking. "Difference is that you are in a relationship. One that probably involves conversations in between your very innocent snog sessions. Where as I just…" he trailed off.

She stopped walking and turned at his loss for how to describe what it was exactly he did with the fairer sex. He almost bowled her over at her abrupt change of pace and reached out to grab her hips to steady them both. "Find a fuck buddy?" she offered to him innocently with her big brown eyes boring deep into his silver ones.

His cock twitched, reacting as though she'd just offered to be one. He immediately removed his hands from her. "Something like that." She raised her eyebrow. He let out a breath through his nose and looked upwards. "Okay, exactly like that."

She smirked at him, then turned around and continued to the wardrobe. "Don't worry. I tell him nothing about this. I'm in the habit of only offering up information when asked directly."

"What the hell kind of relationship is that?"

Ginny didn't respond. That was a question she was looking to avoid for now.

Draco sensed her reluctance to answer and felt a small victory. "And if he asks you about your necklace?"

"I'll ask if he likes it." She replied easily. "Can't imagine he would want to discuss my jewelry preferences."

"Where does he think you are right now?"

She shrugged in response. "I know he's occupied for the evening, and Ron and Hermione are in a prefects meeting before rounds and Luna and Neville are occupied with each other. We just shouldn't fall asleep on each other tonight." She teased. "So. What's you progress?" She indicated to the wardrobe.

"I've managed to send an apple through without it being shriveled. It took a few tries. They haven't been able to send anything back yet."

She nodded in understanding. "So, say you get it all operational. Do you know their plan of attack?"

"No."

"And… Dumbledore?"

He slid to sit on the floor and she joined him. "I have to be seen as trying something. I have a few options that are sloppy and lethal, but they could be intercepted and others could get hurt. Plus, the fact that I don't want to do this in the first place."

"And no chance that you want to tell him?"

He looked at her in surprise. "How in the hell could I tell him?"

She shrugged. "I can imagine him playing along. Like a bad actor pretending to have just been shot, then hiding out somewhere." Draco rolled his eyes. "You'll tell me though, right? Before you do something potentially life threatening, whether for you or Dumbledore?"

"I can't do it. I can't kill the greatest wizard of our time. I can't even begin to think of how I could ever even get close!" He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and sat with his back against the door.

Ginny moved herself to sit beside his and rested her head on his shoulder to try and bring him some comfort. Instead it made Draco slightly more uncomfortable. Her shampoo or body wash smelled intoxicating, and it was stirring his feelings up for her that he would rather direct at another female, any other female. That, however, was alleviating his panic he was feeling about the murder he had to plan. Then she rested her hand on top of his.

"We'll figure this out. Get you out of it."

"They'll kill my mother and I if they even get an inkling that you know." He whispered.

She raised her head to look at him directly with a rather amused smile playing on her lips. "A Malfoy and a Weasley conspiring to overthrow the Dark Lord? Two teenagers against the world? I'm sure someone, somewhere, is guessing that right now." She laughed lightly.

Draco did not join in her merriment. "How can you just laugh everything off?" He accused her.

"Look." She sobered up and ignored his question. "I know you don't want to tell anyone. But I think we are getting to the point of having to. If you actually get this wardrobe to do what it is supposed to, then I really think an ambush is a good idea. It can't just be you and I."

He studied her face. Draco knew she was right, but there was a tightness in his chest, and confusion in his head of where to even begin. He needed to clear his head. He stood up and paced while she continued to sit there and stare at him while he went back and forth.

"Tell me why you never told anyone about the Horcruxes." He asked her finally. If he knew her reasoning, maybe that would help him decide what to do about his situation.

"Did you hear the story about the Philosophers Stone from your first year?" She asked.

He nodded. "Professor Quirrell was trying to get it, Potter stopped him and your boyfriend's legend lived on." He rolled his eyes.

Ginny decided not to snark on his obvious disapproval of her relationship. "Well apparently the stone was stored in the 'Mirror or Erised' and the only people who would be able to get it out of there were those that wanted it, but not to use it. So essentially if Harry, Ron and Hermione hadn't managed to tackle all of the enchantments then Quirrell still wouldn't have gotten the stone."

Draco thought it over. He was confused about where she was going with the story.

"When I first heard the story of three first year students getting past all of the tasks and traps set by fully grown witches and wizards, then Dumbledore rewarding them for their bravery, and telling everyone how brilliant they were?! I started to have my doubts about him."

Draco sat back down, knowing that her story was not finished.

"Then let's take a look at the fact that he hired Quirrell in the first place. He had Voldemort growing out the back of his head, and Dumbledore doesn't think that there was anything to be suspicious of? Hell, apparently even Snape knew he was shady. Then there was Lockhart. What a waste of space that idiot was." She rolled her eyes dramatically. Draco smiled slightly. "So, with everything considered, I didn't think he would make the best decisions about what to do with the information if I gave it to him." She surmised. "There is also the fact that he is obviously a target for Voldy as well."

"And there was no one else you could think of to go to?" He asked. "Snape for instance. Or your parents?"

She raised one eyebrow at him. "First off, I really don't know Snape. And second off, your parents may be able to deal with this shit, but mine can't. Don't get me wrong, when push comes to shove, they'll do what needs to be done, but until that time comes, they are going to let it be someone else's decision, namely Dumbledore's."

"And now? Why are you suddenly changing your tune when it comes to my problem?" He accused.

"I'm not entirely. But there is a battle coming, which we know better than most." She gestured to the wardrobe again. "We will probably know exactly when it will happen better than either side." She observed Draco carefully now. She wanted to get a true impression of his feelings toward her next question. "Do you trust Snape?"

"He." Draco started, then hesitated. "I think he's been tasked with helping me. I've known him all my life, he's my godfather." He explained. "I would tell him before I would tell anyone else. I'm not sure if he knows about the Vanishing Cabinet."

"You think he's been tasked with helping you?" She thought over the times she'd seen him at the Order of Phoenix meetings. She knew he was a double agent, and really, so were they. All operating in the grey area.

"There have been a few signs. A little more attention paid to me than usual. Trying to make me stay after class for any reason."

"Okay." Ginny said.

"Okay?"

"Okay, if we are going to tell, we'll go to him." She decided. Ginny was much more comfortable with that then she was with the potentially senile Dumbledore.

"Not yet though, right?" He sounded concerned.

"Not yet." She smiled and put a hand on his knee. "Still just you and me." He smiled back at her and laced his fingers through hers.

She looked into his face, with his dark silver eyes and soft smile. She couldn't deny that she found him attractive. She could almost see what he'd look like in a few years. He'd be a very handsome man. Emotionally Ginny pulled back at that thought.

She looked down at their intertwined fingers. It was an intimate move, one that she shouldn't be having with Draco when she was already feeling twisted about the number of secrets between her and her boyfriend. She wasn't letting it show, but it was beginning to eat at her that both she and Harry had these big secrets from each other. Holding hands with Draco in such a way wasn't helping her sort out her feelings. It was obvious to Ginny that she and Draco would have a much easier time of things. They already knew each-others secrets.

Though, this ate at her when ever she stewed on it, when ever she and Harry were together it always felt so right, until about a half hour into their snogging anyways. She pulled away from Draco then. "I should go then." She said standing up. "You'll let me know if there's any more progress?"

Draco noticed there was a slight reddening in her cheeks and felt another small victory. He was hoping to insert some contention into her relationship. He had previously thought that a relationship between the two of them was too much. But if she could carry on with Potter in secret then maybe she would carry on with him in secret. Though, he wasn't one for sharing.

()()()()()()()

Harry remembered that Locket. He'd seen it being played with in a teasing fashion between two beautifully developing breasts over a year ago. Two breasts that belonged to his girlfriend. The ones that he'd only just yesterday worked up the nerve to touch for the first time under her bra. He felt his face redden in a blush and looked up from the glassy surface of the Pensive into Dumbledore's face.

They were in his 'lesson' in the Headmasters office, having just witnessed a very pregnant Merope Riddle sell the necklace at Borgin and Burkes. The last lesson, the previous month, Harry had seen the locket in the possession of Marvolo Gaunt and had thought it familiar, but now he remembered why.

"You've remembered something." Dumbledore pulled Harry out of his reverie.

"Grimmauld Place." Harry said. "I saw that locket at Grimmauld Place two years ago. When we were cleaning up the rooms!"

Dumbledore's eyes widened. He quickly came around from the other side of the Pensive and clutched Harry's shoulders. "You are sure? That locket?"

Harry nodded desperately without realizing he had been. "I think it got boxed up with a bunch of other junk that had been cluttering the shelves. But I know it was that exact locket." He exclaimed. "It was familiar to me in the last memory, but seeing it again, I remember where it was I knew it from."

Dumbledore released him and with the grace of a much younger man bolted over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo powder. "Head back to your common room, Harry. I will let you know what we discover." He threw in the powder and stepped into the green flames, and with a flash he was off to the Order of Phoenix headquarters.

Harry stood alone in the office with Fawkes for a moment. Excitement and trepidation had him rooted to the spot. He still did not know the significance of the Slytherin heirlooms, or why exactly Dumbledore was showing him Voldemort's past. It was entirely aggravating. At the end of the previous school year, after Voldemort was seen and Umbridge was ejected from the school, he had learned of the prophesy that foretold of him being the Chosen One. The one destined to put an end to the Dark Wizard, and thus the 'lessons' with the Headmaster.

But the way he was always relayed information in the least straight forward manner ever was infuriating. And now he was being denied the opportunity to go and help search for this all-important item with Sirius and Remus.

Harry clenched his fists and went over to the display case near the desk that contained the Gaunt ring. It looked destroyed. Blackened and melted on one side. It had been dirty in the memory he'd seen of it, but the whole Gaunt family had been filthy. He suspected the ring had something to do with the state of Dumbledore's withered and dying hand.

After several minutes of staring at it he left the office. He hoped Ron and Hermione were done with their prefects meeting so he could discuss this with them. And he hoped Ginny will have already gone to bed.

Though, because they were still hiding their relationship it shouldn't make her suspicious that he was talking to the two of his friends without her. Harry winced at that thought. He was sure normal couples shared their secrets, he was keeping major ones from her.

Ginny had certainly proven herself an intelligent witch capable of keeping a secret. She did know about the Order of Phoenix after all. But it was too much. She was his reprieve from all the responsibility he felt weighing him down. Ginny was light, and bubbly, and Quidditch. She didn't need to know, and in moments like this Harry thought he did not want more people to know about their relationship. He was a target, she didn't have to become one too.

()()()()()()

It was Saturday evening in the Gryffindor Tower and Ginny had been sitting in front of the fireplace with Neville when she saw Hermione charge into the common room as though on a mission. "Think she's worked up over something?" She whispered to him jokingly.

"Always." Neville snickered back. "She really just needs to get some."

"Astute as ever." Ginny snickered back. It amazed her how Ron and she danced around each other's feelings the way they did. It was obvious to absolutely everyone that they fancied each other. And the built-up sexual tension kept expressing itself in verbal sparring matches, at which Ron was terrible and everyone found annoying. "Bet I can get them to play tonsil hockey." She endeavored.

Neville gave her a confused look. "What's hockey?"

"Gah, Purebloods." She chided and rolled her eyes while he snickered, because she too was a Pureblood. "I'm going to get those two to snog. Now." She got up from the couch and headed over.

Hermione huffed and slammed her books onto the table in the Gryffindor common room. "Oi" Ron scowled. "I've an essay here I worked hard on, don't make me spill ink on it."

Hermione gave him a glare and sat down. "What's got you in a mood?" Harry asked her lightly.

"It's just. I don't. I don't know how she does it! Those Slytherin girls are as horrible to her as they are to me, maybe worse and it doesn't bother her in the least."

Ron and Harry exchanged a confused look. "Who?" Harry asked. He assumed he knew who she meant, but Ginny hadn't mentioned any untoward behavior directed at her.

"Ginny! Nothing rattles her."

"What are they saying?" Ron demanded.

Hermione hesitated, like she had just realized, again, that Ginny was his sister. And while Ginny was level headed, Ron's temper matched his hair.

"That I'm a slut, that I'm ugly, and that I'm dumb." Ginny answered cheerfully as she too joined them at the table. "Why do you think they are giving you a hard time?" She asked Hermione.

"Because they're wretched!" She looked on the verge of tears. "How does it not bother you?"

"Well first there's the fact that none of their insults are true." She pointed out. "Still holding on to my V card, so not a slut. While I know I won't be gracing any magazine covers I know I'm not ugly. And I passed my OWLs a year early, so clearly not dumb." She winked at Hermione and smiled. "Honestly if they could come up with a remotely true insult that wasn't four letters long, I may just applaud them. But It still won't offend me."

"Well I wish I had your confidence." Hermione mumbled.

"Maybe you should snog someone. That'll help. Cormac McLaggen was looking at you!" Ginny told her and gave Harry a look nodding to Ron's reaction.

"She is not going to be snogging Cormac McLaggen!" Ron was going red in the face at the thought.

"Why not? She's pretty. He's good looking. It's how all trashy novels start." Ginny and Harry fought the urge to laugh.

"You really think I'm pretty?" Hermione asked meekly. She knew Ginny had said as much to her the other day, but that could have just been because Parvati and Lavender were there too, and Ginny didn't want her to feel left out.

"Come off it Hermione. Don't be self-deprecating. That's what the Slytherin girls are for." Ginny gave her a saucy look. "Oh! I know. Justin Finch-Fletchly. Pretty sure he wants to Huffle your Puff, if you know what I mean." She winked at her. All but Ron were laughing now.

He was still red. "She's too good for him."

"Aw, thanks Ron." She put a hand on his arm and gave him a rather adoring look.

"Well who are you interested in Hermione?" Ginny asked her. Hermione turned red and looked down at her lap. "Come now, there must be someone. Plenty of boys like you."

"Plenty of boys who?" Ron sounded defensive.

"Relax Ron. Just looking to make Hermione understand that she's got more going for her than her book smarts."

"Of course she has! She's brilliant, witty, driven and beautiful." Ron stated incredulously. Hermione stared at him open mouthed for a moment. He never complemented her, and he'd certainly never called her beautiful before. Ron looked slightly horrified with himself for saying all that out loud and stood up. "I'll just."

But whatever he was going to say next was cut off by Hermione standing up and throwing herself at him. She kissed him passionately and the whole of the Gryffindor common room stared in shock. Hermione pulled back after a few moments and they both looked into each other's eyes amazed.

Ron leaned back down to kiss her again and cat-calls and cheers rang out throughout the common room, with a few people hollering 'Finally'. Harry and Ginny were clapping especially hard when they properly broke apart and saw the reaction of everyone else in the room.

Harry turned to Ginny, eyes sparkling with amazement, shaking his head. "You"

"Me?" She put a dramatic hand to her chest. "I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Potter." She grinned widely. Ginny had known that Hermione and Ron had a major thing for each other, and neither was willing to make the first move. While Ginny didn't particularly like every aspect of Hermione, she knew she gave Ron 'the feelings'.

 **AN- Okay, warned you at the top about the 'light smut.' If that offended you at all then 1. You really shouldn't be reading the 'M' rated stories, and B. You might want to stop reading this one all together, because those moments are going to keep happening and get more detailed in later chapters.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter. More of the M rated stuff ahead**

Harry was lying in bed, he'd woken to the sun shining in through the window onto his face. He looked over and saw Ron was snoring away with a slight smile on his lips. Again, Harry couldn't help but be amazed with Ginny.

She'd managed to trick Ron into telling Hermione his feelings, then his two best friends had left to 'discuss things.' Meaning snog in a broom closet. He hoped that those two together meant that he and Ginny would be able to spend more time together without arousing suspicion. `

Speaking of arousing suspicion, Harry looked over to the other three beds in the room. They all had curtains drawn shut. He got off his bed and went to his trunk to get his two-way mirror. He hadn't heard from Dumbledore in three days and received no owls from Sirius about their search for the locket either.

Drawing his hangings shut he cast a silencing charm and called for Padfoot.

"Heyya, Pup" said the tired face of Sirius the blink of an eye later. "Was wondering when you'd check in and demand an update."

"Any luck?" Harry asked him.

"None. We checked all of the boxes, tried the old reliable 'Accio' and nothing." He shook his head. "Dumble's is adamant that we don't give up until we've turned the whole place upside down. What room did you see it in by the way?"

"Regulus' room, I think."

Sirius rolled his eyes a bit at that. "Makes sense. He was a Death Eater before he mysteriously disappeared."

"Can't I come and help with the search?" He asked hopefully.

"No, you need to stay at school. We've got this. You keep your focus on Quidditch and Ginny." He winked.

Harry blushed. "Not school work then?" He teased.

"Pfft. Life's too short." Sirius joked. They both immediately sobered at that. They knew that there was a very real chance that Harry did have a short life. Sirius had been with him when Dumbledore told him about the prophesy.

"Do you think I should talk to Ginny about all this?" Harry hesitated.

Sirius studied his face. "You in love with her, Pup?" Genuine concern was apparent on his face.

Harry bit his lip thinking on it. He wanted to be around her all the time, and thinking about her made him smile, he even felt a pull in his chest every now and then when he would look at her and she'd have this look in her eyes. "I don't know. Maybe I will be down the line. Right now, she makes me happy." He said lamely.

"Then maybe it would be best to leave her in the dark. And I don't just mean the dark of broom closets." He grinned. Sirius dropped his grin and his eyebrows drew together. "Um, by the way. I've been meaning to.. Has anyone ever talked to you about. You know, all that?" He jutted his chin forward as though to indicate towards something.

Harry stared at him blankly. "All what?"

Sirius swallowed. "You know, what you're getting up to with Ginny." His eye's widened trying to portray his meaning.

Harry was confused for a moment and thought it over. What he got up to with Ginny was heavy petting. Then his eyes bulged out in understanding. "Oh! All _that_. Um, no."

"Okay." Sirius nodded. "So. Time for the sex talk?" He grinned awkwardly.

()()()()()()()()

"Ready for the match?" Harry asked Ginny nervously. The sex talk with Sirius had been a few weeks ago now and Harry knew he'd been acting odd around her. He couldn't help it though. Sirius had told him to discuss what their expectations were with each other, and like the hero everyone thought he was, he'd been avoiding it. Their snogging sessions had been thoroughly arousing, but she always put on the brakes after they'd carry on for a while. Usually around the time he'd worked up the nerve to try going further. He didn't want to pressure her though.

They were in the locker rooms waiting for the rest of the school to pile into the stands. "Well, I'm fully kitted out and holding a broom stick. All signs point to 'Yes'." She smiled tightly at him.

He nodded, looking down at the floor. It seemed he had trouble maintaining eye contact with her lately. It was clear she was getting annoyed with his whole demeanor.

"Well I feel great! We are going to completely dominate!" Ron chimed in looking very chipper. "Just the way we practiced everyone! We are going to pummel Slytherin today!" He hopped onto the benches and jumped around the rest of the team.

"Is he on something?" Ginny leaned in and asked Harry quietly.

Harry snickered and caught a whiff of her hair, she always smelled so good. He flashed her a quick grin before moving to the other side of the locker room.

Ginny didn't get it. He'd been so back and forth lately. Whatever it was he was keeping from her, she was tired of it. 'I'm not even prying, so why is he being so odd?' She wondered.

They all went out to the entrance to the pitch and flew out when their names were called. Ginny got her head in the game. When her name was called, she shot out onto the pitch and did one quick lap before getting into position. She winked cheekily at Draco. He scowled at her, but she saw a twitch in the corner of his mouth.

He'd talked to her about potentially quitting the team to focus on the cabinet, and his other task. She yelled at him for five minutes straight about not giving up the good things in life just because he had to kill someone down the line. Poor wording on her part, but it got the message across.

She looked over at Harry. He was glaring at Draco. Typical behavior as she understood. Neither had told her exactly why it is that they seemed to hate each other so much, they didn't say anything to each other in the classes they all shared.

Hooch released the Quaffle and the game was off.

()()()()()()()()()()()

230/20 in favor of Gryffindor. The Slytherin Chasers weren't the best, but the Beaters sure knew what they were doing.

Ron had done exceptionally well also. He seemed to outshine even his best practice game performances.

"Alright, what did you give him?" Ginny asked Harry when they were the only two left in the locker room. Everyone else had run off to celebrate at the tower.

"Nothing!" He put his hands up, but there was a smile on his face.

"Come on! You did something!" She smiled and moved closer to him.

"Maybe Ron just _thinks_ I did something, and that was why he did so well." Harry grinned.

"And what might he _think_ you did?" She pried. He shrugged and pulled her closer to him, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his vial of Felix Felicis. She looked at the seal and saw it hadn't been broken. She laughed out loud. "No wonder he thought he could do no wrong."

"So, I have your approval?" They locked eyes and his smile faltered slightly.

She deflated a bit at his wavering expression. "You did good Harry, now how about we join everyone else for a drink?" She stepped back from him, but he tightened his hold a moment.

"Ginny?" He started. "I… never mind."

Ginny puckered her lips and turned away from him. 'Never mind indeed.'

Harry was kicking himself. She knew something was up. It was obvious.

Perhaps he would deal better talking to her with some alcohol in his system. 'Yes, alcohol. Loosens the lips.' He thought.

He caught up with her and they made their way silently back to the tower. Once inside the common room they couldn't help but grin at all the celebrating that was going on. Ron was perched on shoulders and a rendition of 'Weasley is our King' was being sung.

Ginny skipped off to find a drink and chat with some people, and Harry was handed a shot and followed her with his eye's. "Are you ever going to ask her out?" Hermione asked him quietly. Harry was startled, he hadn't seen her come up beside him. He quickly downed his shot and looked over at his bushy haired friend. She must have seen the concern in his eyes. But he nodded.

"Are you worried about Ron? Do you think she'll say yes?" She asked, wild eyed.

"Hermione!" Harry whined.

"Okay, don't tell me. But if you get together, you can't keep it from Ron." She admonished.

Harry sighed. He shouldn't be keeping things from Ginny either, like how he had to be the one to kill Voldemort, or that he really, really wanted to shag her. "Just. Can you keep Ron occupied for a bit? I need to duck out and talk to Ginny. I don't want him noticing."

Hermione pursed her lips but conceded.

"Thanks." Harry smiled at her and reached out to grab another shot. He winced at the burn the fire whiskey gave as it made its way to warm his belly. The second shot kicked the first shot into his brain it seemed, and suddenly he felt he'd be able to talk to Ginny about what he wanted out of this relationship.

He weaved through the crowd and earned several pats on the back as he made his way to where Ginny was. "Can we talk?" he whispered to her. She had been standing with a butterbeer talking to some of the fifth-year girls and turned to him with a flash of excitement in her eyes. It quickly shifted to concern, but she nodded and they made their way as discreetly as possible up to his dorm.

Once he shut the door and checked that none of the other dorm mates were anywhere, he turned to her. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry." She reiterated back to him. "You're sorry for acting so strangely the last few weeks?"

"Yes." He took her butterbeer from her and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to sit on his bed. He placed the drink on his night stand. "I just, I talked to Sirius about something and he pointed out that I should probably talk to you about that something and I've been avoiding it."

Ginny studied his face carefully and noticed that his hand had been shaking a bit. "Harry, you know I haven't been prying into your meetings with Dumbledore. I know you confide in Ron and Hermione and you're hesitant to tell me about it, but I haven't been pushing you to either!" She herself was shaking a bit at the thought that he might tell her what had been going on. She wasn't ready to share her information with him either.

"That's not what it was about. Though I do really appreciate how patient you are about that too. And I've been grappling with whether or not to talk to you about that also. This is about, something else." He said lamely.

"Okay." She laced her fingers through his hands, relieved. "What is it that you needed liquid courage for?"

"Um. Sirius gave me the sex talk." He blurted out.

Ginny's mouth opened into the perfect 'O' shape and she started giggling. "Oh! That's why you've been avoiding me? What, was he preaching abstinence? That doesn't really strike me as his approach."

Harry felt his face heating up. "No! He pointed out that we should probably talk about it, and that made me uncomfortable, because. Well, I've never talked about it before."

Ginny smiled sweetly at him and moved closer. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Harry, you don't have to be embarrassed about it. It was a smart thing to bring up actually."

His eyes lit up. "Really?" He leaned closer to her and brushed his lips against hers.

"Really." She replied softly and kissed him lightly. "So, you've been avoiding me because of nerves and embarrassment?"

He pouted out his bottom lip. "Yes. I just didn't know how to bring it up!"

Ginny giggled and pulled back from him to lay back against his pillows. "You say, Ginny, we've been together for a while now, and I just want to make sure I'm not pressuring you into anything. You'll tell me when I've gone too far, right?" She said slowly and teasingly.

Harry grinned at her and pulled his hangings shut. Then he lay down beside her and put a hand on her hip, playing with the hem of her shirt. His two shots he'd downed were making him feel quite a bit more confident than usual. "Ginny?" He kissed her gently on the lips. "We've been together for a while now." He trailed kissed down her jaw line. "And I just want to make sure I'm not pressuring you into anything." His hand lightly moved up her side underneath her shirt as he kissed down her neck. "You'll tell me when I've gone too far." He cupped her breast over her bra and licked along her collar bone. "Right?"

Ginny was smiling at his actions with her eyes closed, enjoying the sensations. "And then I'll say." She hooked her leg over his hip and pushed him so that he lay on his back, with her on top of him. "Harry." She kissed him lightly on his lips. "In all our time together, you've been the one setting the pace." She sat up and took off her shirt. His eyes went wide at the sight of her in only a dark red bra. "If I'm making you uncomfortable, you'll tell me?" She finished with a mischievous glint.

He reached down and pulled his own shirt off. Then pulled her back down to him and rolled her over so he could lay on top of her. "So, not going too fast then?" She smiled and kissed him in response. He relished the feeling of their skin on skin. He deepened the kiss and licked her lips for entrance.

"Mmm." Ginny pulled back. "Sorry. I'm just, not a fan of frenching."

"Oh." He nodded and leaned down to kiss her again. She responded eagerly enough that the disappointment of not being allowed to explore her mouth was pushed aside. Her hands were scratching and massaging his back in a manner that set his whole body on edge. He wanted to do the same for her, without her bra. She said that he'd been setting the pace, did that mean that she wanted him to proceed however he wanted?

Harry ran his hand up her side and under her ribs to her back. Unfortunately, his sex talk with Sirius had not prepared him for the complexity that was the bra clasp. Ginny giggled against his mouth and his inability to release the catch. Harry rested his head in the crook of her neck and giggled a bit himself.

"Am I completely buggering this up?" He asked her with a smile on his face.

She cupped his cheek smiling up at him from the pillows. "It's cute. You're confounded by a bra clasp." She kissed his nose. "Do you want some help with that?"

"You're okay with it?" He asked cautiously and sat up straddling her.

She reached behind her and undid the clasp and he reached for the straps sliding them down her arms. Never before had he seen two more perfect mounds of flesh. They looked the perfect size to fit in his palms, and her pale pink nipples looked like they were just waiting for him to put his mouth over. He was staring at them so long he didn't even notice the blush she'd developed as it spread from her face down her chest. He did notice the goosebumps that developed and her nipples harden making her breasts look even more firm and inviting.

"Harry?" His eyes finally returned to her face. "Joining me down here anytime soon?"

He grinned. "Not sorry." He laid down beside her and ran his hand up her stomach and cupped one of her breasts. "Can I kiss you?"

"I think you'd better."

"I mean…"

She bit her lip looking at him and pulled him to her. "Why don't you work your way down?"

He barely contained jumping on her at that invitation. One hand still on her breast he used his other arm for support as he lay back down on top her. He kissed her lips again feverously. This was by far the best he could have hoped for. She was letting him see and touch her chest properly. And they were in his bed. He was beyond aroused and wondered how far exactly she would let things progress tonight.

He kissed down her neck and collar bone, to the valley between her breasts. He could feel her chest rising and falling and she was humming at the sensations. The softness of her breasts that he felt, there was no comparison. She arched her back as he kissed her nipple. He was fascinated by how hard it got. He licked it and her hands sunk into his hair. He wanted to bury his face in her bosom forever.

He moved lower down her chest and traced the faint line underneath where her bra would have sat. The moan that that elicited from her made his already erect cock even harder. Her hands went under his arms to pull him back up to her and she attacked his mouth with hers. Her perfect breasts pressed firmly against his chest was a wonderful feeling.

Her legs hooked behind his knees and made the pressure of their lower bodies meet at exactly the right spot to make him groan throatily and he rocked against her while her hands continued to roam all over his body. Up and down his arms and sides, across his back. And she rocked back into him moaning. Her hips grinding her womanhood against his erection. He wanted to strip away the rest of their clothes and pound into her, but the sensations were too good to stop for even a second.

They were matching each-others rhythms perfectly and moaning almost in sync. She grabbed his hips and he balanced on his elbows. He didn't know when they'd even stopped kissing, he just wanted to keep dry humping her forever. He opened his eyes and looked down at her face. Her head was tilted back with her eyes closed and her mouth was open. There was a crinkle in between her eyebrows. He'd never seen anything so sexy. She was focused entirely of the pleasure their lower halves were bringing her.

He wanted to see her peak. And with how frantically they were now rocking he was desperate to see it soon. He swallowed hard as her moans got louder. It was amazing to watch the blush that crept over her. Her head tilted back even more and her mouth grew wider. She bit down on her bottom lip and her back curled as she let out an almighty sigh and her chest heaved. He buried his face into the pillow beside her and focused on his own mounting pleasure that was so close to sliding into ecstasy.

It was only a moment after her. He ground up against her relaxing form and felt the familiar pressure and let out his release.

They both lay there, unable to move for several moments. She still had one hand in his hair was lazily drawing circles with her fingers. Eventually her legs unhooked from behind his knees and he slid over on the bed, pulling her with him as he lay on his back.

He managed to find his wand and cast the freezing and silencing spell on his hangings. Something he should have thought of before they did that. It was a miracle that they hadn't been interrupted. After one more spell to clean up the mess he'd made in his boxers he put it away and pulled the covers over the both of them to fall asleep.

()()()()()()()()

Ginny awoke snuggled into Harry's side. It was still dark outside. The comforter was pulled up to her chin and her bare chest against his still felt wonderful. She smiled at the memory of what they'd done before they'd fallen asleep. She really enjoyed that.

His reaction to something as simple as her breasts made her want to laugh, but she didn't dare, it would have most certainly embarrassed him.

She wasn't quite sure why she'd woken up. As comfortable as she was, she should have slept right through the night. But she was in the boy's dorm, and that would be a terrible idea.

Her stomach was churning slightly, and she felt kind of disgusted she realized. With what, she wasn't sure. She wasn't disgusted with herself for what they'd done the night before, that had been great. She felt the overwhelming urge to get away from Harry right then though. She sat up and grabbed her top, pulling it over her head.

She found her wand and climbed out of the bed. Looking back at her sleeping boyfriend she couldn't help but smile. He looked so cute sleeping, she felt fine now that she was out of the bed, she gave Harry a quick kiss before sneaking out the door. Tiptoeing down the stairs, she noticed several people asleep in the common room. Including Parvati and Seamus.

'Good' She thought. Her dorm would be shy at least one other girl. She snuck into her room and saw that all the beds were, in fact, empty.

For a moment she wasn't sure whether to be amused or grossed out at the fact Hermione was more than likely in bed with her brother right now. She decided on amused as she grabbed her pajamas and headed for the bathroom to clean-up. It was about three in the morning, if any of the other girls were going to sneak back it would be soon. She deposited her clothes in the hamper and climbed into her bed, leaving the hangings open.

()()()()()()()

"Harry. Hey, Harry. Wake up!"

Harry groaned.

"Mate, come on."

"What?" He mumbled.

"Can I borrow your cloak?" Ron whispered through his bed hangings.

"My cloak?"

"Erm, yeah."

Harry lifted his cheek from his pillow. It was first thing in the morning, why would he need his invisibility cloak? Harry rolled over and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Yeah, it's in my trunk. Go ahead."

"Thanks!"

Something nagged at the back of Harry's brain, but he wanted more sleep. He rolled onto his side and buried his face in the pillow. It smelled like Ginny's shampoo.

'Ginny!' His eyes opened and his hands reached out as if to search for her in the bed. She must have snuck out. He fished under his pillow for the map to see if she got back to her dorm. He found her bra first instead.

He sat up holding it and grinning. It hadn't been a dream. He stuffed the bra into his jeans pocket and pulled his hangings open. Ron was getting dressed. "Oh! I thought you'd snuck off somewhere?"

Ron's ears tinged pink. "That wasn't for me." He blushed.

Harry snorted. "Wow! Okay." Harry hadn't even considered that he might not be the only guy who snuck his girlfriend into bed last night. Hermione must have really done a good job of distracting Ron. "Breakfast?" Harry asked him, changing the subject.

"Breakfast sounds lovely." Said Luna who appeared from the hangings around Neville's bed. "May I joint you? Neville is still sleeping and I am quite famished after last night." She said unabashed. Her bright blue eyes staring between the two of them, not blinking.

"Yeah." Harry said slowly. Sometimes he really envied Luna and her nonchalance.

"Wonderful. I'll just go get the girls too, shall I?" She skipped out of the room. Harry and Ron turned to each other and started laughing.

()()()()

Ginny cracked her eyes open when the dorm door opened. Hermione snuck in carefully, she had a bundle under her arm that looked suspiciously like Harry's invisibility cloak. "Good morning Hermione." Ginny said making the girl jump.

Her hair was even messier than usual. "Oh! Morning, I didn't think you would be awake."

"You mean you were hoping you wouldn't get caught." Ginny teased. Hermione blushed. "Was it nice snuggling up to your man all night?"

The door opened again and Luna skipped in. "Breakfast?"

Hermione looked taken aback. "How did you get into the tower?"

"Oh, I've been here all night. Harry and Ron are just about to head down to the Great Hall." She went over to Ginny's dresser. "You both must be peckish too. What time did you sneak out Ginny? I didn't hear you leave." She started stripping off her clothes and pulling on some of Ginny's, while tossing clothes at her to get dressed in as well.

Hermione stared at Ginny open mouthed. "You were in Harry's bed last night?" Ginny grinned at her in response.

"You should probably get your bra back from Harry. It's in his pocket, and I'm sure Ron will have some questions if he sees it." Luna said and started humming a tune to herself.

"You were with Harry last night and you wound up removing your bra?" Hermione admonished.

"Hey!" Ginny pointed her finger at her. "I don't ask what you do with my brother, don't go poking into what I get up to with Harry."

"But… didn't the two of you only just… that's awfully fast!"

"Oh! Did you shag Harry last night? I thought you were waiting." Luna asked honestly.

"No. I didn't." She said calmly to Luna. Then turned back angrily to Hermione. "And no Hermione, not that it's any of your business, but it wasn't fast. What do you know about it anyways?"

"Well." She blushed at her earlier insinuation. "I gathered he fancied you, then he asked me to distract Ron last night, and went to talk to you. He admitted he fancied you. I wasn't sure before then, I didn't know you thought of him like that. You don't talk about him."

"You're right. I don't talk about him. _With you_. Hermione, I don't think you realize how you come off to me. You say you think of me as a good friend, but you treat me like I'm a child that you are minding. I am fully capable of making my own decisions and don't need you patronizing me. I also don't need you insinuating I am a slut."

Ginny finished getting dressed and pulled on her shoes. Hermione was close to tears sitting on her bed, but she had a hard time feeling bad about telling her off.

"I had sex with Neville last night." Luna said as she headed for the door.

"How was it? You remembered the contraceptive charm I assume?" Ginny asked as she followed her out.

"Oh yes, and it was quite pleasant."

Hermione sat watching as the two girls headed out. She had thought that she and Ginny were friends. Not as close as Ron and Harry, but still, they had classes together, and roomed together. She'd also known about how Ginny played Quidditch before most of her family. But Ginny was right. Looking back Ginny never confided anything in Hermione. She only talked to Hermione when there was a question to be answered.

Their relationship could only be classified as 'companions' not friends. She felt wretched. This hadn't been the first time she'd basically accused Ginny of being loose.

Harry and Ron were in the common room when Ginny and Luna descended the stairs. Ron made a point not to look directly at Luna. Harry glazed over when he saw Ginny. She smiled widely at that.

"Hermione won't be coming down for breakfast. She's rather too upset." Luna said as she glided past the boys and to the portrait hole.

Ron looked horrified and turned to Ginny. "What happened? Is she okay? Did, did she tell you why she was upset?"

"Relax Ron, it isn't anything to do with you." Ginny assured him. "I'm sure she'll be down after a bit."

"Oh" He relaxed. "So, food?" He turned to follow Luna out.

Ginny linked her arm through Harry's and leaned over to whisper to him. "Is that a bra in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?"

He grinned at her. "Can't it be both?" He winked at her. "Oddly enough I found it under my pillow this morning. Haven't any idea how it got there." They went through the portrait hole and started down the stairs. Ron had been trying to keep up with Luna, and she was practically skipping the steps, so they were well ahead of Harry and Ginny.

"Mind keeping it on you a little longer? It would be much to obvious in my pocket, and I can't exactly put another one on right now."

"Trust me, I don't mind." He smiled. "So, what happened with Hermione? I thought she'd be in as good a mood as Ron after sneaking out this morning?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, then realized that this was probably going to turn into a serious discussion. She tugged his arm to stop him from continuing down the next flight of stairs and led him over to a less echoey spot. "She knows about us." She said pointedly.

Harry had the decency to look bashful. "Right, I meant to tell you that. Last night, but. Well, that happened and I wasn't really using my head at that point."

"Not the one on your shoulders anyway." She said cheekily. "I don't really care that she knows. But she was under the impression that we were rather new into this, so when Luna skipped into the room saying my bra was in your pocket Hermione basically called me 'easy'. Then I told her off. That's why she was upset."

It looked like Harry was at a loss for words. His girlfriend and his best friend weren't getting on. It was understandable. "I'll talk to her." He said finally.

Ginny looked confused. "Talk to her about what? She jumped to conclusions again, I told her off. She can either leave it, or apologize. What is there to talk to her about?"

He shrugged. "I'll. I don't know, tell her how this wasn't a spur of the moment thing! That."

She cut him off. "That we've been sneaking around for months? Actually, make that a year. We first kissed over a year ago. Where do you think that conversation is going to go?"

"I just don't want the two of you fighting!"

Ginny steeled herself for this confession. "Harry. Hermione and I don't get on. She talks down to me and every time I do better than her in class, she thinks there must be a reason."

"But you helped her and Ron get together?" It didn't make sense to him that she would do something like that for someone she didn't even like.

"Yeah, because they are obviously smitten with each other and I want my brother to be happy." She explained.

"So, you don't like Hermione."

"I don't hate her." She offered. She took a deep breath and waited for him to respond. His face was blank. "Harry, you look like I'm asking you to choose between us. I'm not. I am just stating a fact. I don't get on with her, now she knows, and maybe one day things will change, maybe it won't."

He nodded.

"Do you want to go to breakfast?"

He nodded again. It seemed he found keeping his mouth shut on the topic was the safest option.

"Care for a brief kiss?"

The corners of his mouth twitched up, and he nodded.

She grinned and leaned in. Then she was forcefully yanked back.

"What the hell is going on?" Ron stood between them.

 **AN- Okay guys. I totally fucked up. I'm actually working on chapter 20 right now, and realize I completely spaced on how Dobby got freed from the Malfoys. I am open to suggestions. I'm thinking, maybe Harry saw him with Lucius in Diagon Alley while he was staying there for the month before his third year?**

 **MadMaxGmbH, you've been reviewing, ideas?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter. If you've kept up with the story thus far then I'm going to stop warning you that there may be some smut ahead. No shame in admitting that it's what you came for in the first place ;)**

"Well? What the hell is going on?" Ron demanded.

Harry was at a loss for words. Still.

"What's going on is we've just been busted." Ginny said simply. Harry gave her a worried look.

"Busted? Have you two been sneaking around behind my back?"

"Um..Well…" Harry started.

"Yes." Ginny finished. Harry gave Ginny a pained expression.

Ron glared at Harry. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Of Course! We just didn't want to, you know, make a big deal out of it." Harry tried explaining whilst shrinking back from his friend.

"So you hid it from your best friends? She's my sister!" Ron asked accusingly.

"I know! That's why I couldn't tell you!" Harry defended.

"How long have you been sneaking around with her?" Ron growled.

Harry cringed. Ginny leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. The way the two of them were talking at each other it didn't look like she was needed for this conversation. Ron wasn't even acknowledging her presence and Harry was completely focused on Ron now.

"How long?" Ron yelled.

"Ron?" Hermione came upon them. "What's going on?" She looked between the three and drew her own conclusion. "Oh."

"Did you know about this?" Ron balked.

She bit her lip and blushed. "I only just found out last night." She assured him.

"Last night? And you didn't tell me?" Ron barked at her.

"Ron, please calm down. Can we go somewhere more private?" Harry asked. Ron was getting louder and louder.

Hermione took Ron's hand and led them down the corridor to the empty Charms classroom. Harry walked beside them. He was racked with guilt, but also kind of relieved that this milestone was finally getting overturned.

He let the two of them enter first and held the door open behind him. But there was no one to hold the door open for. The corridor was empty. 'That can't be good' He thought to himself.

"Where'd Ginny go?" Hermione asked when Harry closed the door.

Harry winced at her question. "Do you think I should go get her?" He asked unsure.

"How about you answer my questions first?" Ron glared at him.

Harry swallowed and sat down across from Ron. He fiddled with his clenched fists. "We. Erm. Remember that day before we came back to school, when I went to help her collect the apples?"

Ron's jaw dropped. "You've been together that long?" Ron turned to his girlfriend. "You didn't know?"

"No! I thought it was new!" Hermione was floored.

"How could you keep it from us for that long?" Ron asked him

"Because it is such a big deal." Harry reasoned.

"Of course it is!" Ron agreed.

"Exactly. Can you imagine how your family would react if they found out?"

"Mum would be through the roof. She'd love it. Probably start planning your wedding then and there." Ron shrugged, not quite understanding his problem with that.

"Sounds like a lot of pressure for a new relationship doesn't it?" Harry pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows at him.

"That makes sense Harry, but it's been months now. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Hermione asked.

"We talked about it, weeks ago, but then everything just sort of fell into a rhythm and we kept putting it off." Harry looked at Ron wearily. "I'm really sorry mate. I just. It was just so nice having her there as sort of a break from it all."

Ron scrunched up his nose at that. "I guess I'm fine with it. I'd choose you to be with her over any of the other guys that have been sniffing around her. Doesn't mean I want to hear about it though." He pointed his finger at him.

Harry relaxed and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "That's great. I don't really want to know what the two of you get up to either." Ron beamed at that and slid closer to Hermione, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"By the way. If you hurt her there are five more brothers that'll hurt you worse than You-Know-Who." Ron threatened him in good nature.

"Speaking of which. You are still going to keep this quiet right?" Hermione asked him carefully.

Both Ron and Harry looked confused.

"Why? I'm fine with it." Ron asked.

"Yeah, that was the only reason we weren't public."

"Harry, you are a target. You don't think that Ginny would be in danger being with you?" Hermione explained.

Harry felt the blood drain from his face. "Shit. I hadn't even thought about it, I mean, I had a while back, but now… And with Malfoy here too, it could easily get back to Voldemort." Ron and Hermione exchanged glances at that. "Don't" Harry said. He knew they still didn't believe Malfoy was a Death Eater. "You're right. We still have to keep a lid on it. It's dangerous enough just being my friend, but if they found out how I feel about her."

"How do you feel about her?" Hermione asked excitedly leaning forward.

Harry shifted uncomfortably and looked back and forth between his friends. "Um… Strongly?"

Her eyes flicked briefly to Harry's pocket, the one with Ginny's bra in it.

"Right. Well that's enough mushy stuff. You and Ginny are together and keeping it quiet. Hermione and I are together and telling everyone, now to breakfast." Ron slapped his hands on the table and rose from his seat.

When they got to the Great Hall Ginny was sitting at the Ravenclaw table with Luna. Her back was facing the Gryffindor table. Harry did not take that as a good sign. "Should I go talk to her?" He asked his two friends.

"Maybe wait. Don't want to be too obvious about it." Ron said knowingly. "Or, Hermione, can you go ask her over?"

Harry and she exchanged a look. Ron didn't know about what had happened earlier that morning between the two girls. "Um. Maybe we should just give her some space right now. I'm pretty sure I know what she's talking to Luna about."

"What?" Ron asked loading up his plate.

"Not my place to say…" She blushed a deep red.

Harry was distracted by Draco Malfoy coming into the hall. He narrowed his eyes at him and followed the Slytherin with his eyes. He caught how Malfoy searched the hall and his eyes landed on Ginny. That startled Harry. Why would Malfoy be looking for Ginny?

()()()()()()()

"Can I borrow her a moment?" Harry asked Luna.

The girls were in a corridor on their way back to Ravenclaw. "You'll have to ask Ginny if you can borrow her." Luna replied.

He looked pleadingly at Ginny. Ginny didn't answer right away. She wanted to make him sweat a bit. She was mad about how he and his friends took it upon themselves to dictate things about their relationship. Considering it was the very night after she and Harry had crossed a big step in the progression of their relationship and hadn't even talked to each other about it then, she was none too thrilled with him at the moment. Though, not giving him a chance to apologize wasn't going to fix anything. And there was so much they needed to talk about.

"I'll catch up with you later." She said to Luna and followed Harry.

Harry sagged with relief and smiled lazily at her. He held his hand out a moment to take hers, then quickly retracted it.

He led her to the seventh floor. As they drew closer and closer to the Room of Requirement Ginny couldn't help how wide her eyes were growing, nor the feeling of her stomach wanting to bring up her breakfast. 'There's no way' She thought. "Where are we going?" She asked him quietly.

"It's a surprise." At the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy he told her to stop and paced back and forth a few times, then the door appeared. Harry smiled at her. "Open it." He urged.

She was shaking with nerves. Trying to suppress her hyperventilating she went to the door and grabbed the handle. Pulling it open it revealed a room rather like a study with a couch and a roaring fire. Her astonishment must have shown on her face as Harry came in behind her and closed the door.

"Welcome to the Room or Requirement." He took her hand and led her to the couch.

"So, this room creates whatever you want it to?" She asked. 'Thank fuck for that!' she thought. She'd only ever seen it full of miscellaneous junk. Draco had never said it could be anything but.

"Yeah. We used it for the DA training last year. Bloody useful."

She sat back on the couch and looked over at him. He looked happy. "Why are you just bringing me here now? We've been snogging in broom closets and classrooms this whole time."

He looked bashful. "I know. It's just that after last year when you mentioned how many dark corners there are in the school, I may have made up a list in my head of all the spots I wanted to take you to. I've been crossing them off." He finished quietly and looked down at his hands. Not daring to meet her eye.

Ginny thought back over where they'd snuck off to when they could get away. Sure enough, she didn't remember hitting the same spot twice. She burst out laughing. "You've turned it into some kind of sexy scavenger hunt? That's kind of sweet."

Harry looked back up at her grinning and slid closer. Their sides were touching and he put and arm around her. "About earlier." He began.

"Where do you want to start?" She lay her head back on his arm and sighed. "What we did last night, the part about Hermione, or your conversation with Ron?"

"Yeah. It's been a busy 24 hours." He agreed. "How about we start with last night? Which I really loved by the way."

Ginny smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I should hope so. But we didn't actually discuss sex, like you wanted to."

"Um, no, I guess we didn't. It is still too soon?" He asked with hope in his voice.

"Oh. Yeah." Ginny started carefully. "The thing is. I'm not." She fidgeted with a loose string on her shirt. "I mean to say. Uh. What we did last night was great, but. Wow, this is hard to say to you."

"Are you saving yourself?" He asked cautiously. He'd heard girls were big on the 'saving themselves' thing. He blamed romance novels for that.

She could practically hear a balloon deflating in his question. "Yes. But not until marriage or anything." She assured him.

"Oh. So, what? Until you're in love?" He tried to say it with a straight face. Guys don't talk like this to each other, Sirius had coached him a bit on how to come off as being completely open to her feelings about it, even though girls are crazy.

She smiled at how concerned he was. "Preferably, but also until I'm sixteen."

"But you're… Shit, you're fifteen. I forgot." He shifted uncomfortably. "But, what we did last night was okay?"

She liked that he was so much more nervous than she was. It made her more confident. She hitched her leg over him and straddled his lap. "What we did last night was okay. And there are many other things that are okay too." She lowered her voice and she lowered her head to his ear and kissed just below his ear lobe. She was pressed up against him just enough to feel a stirring in his trousers.

"Like. Like what?" He panted. Ginny kissed his lips and he grabbed her bum and pulled her closer to grind up against him.

She moaned against his mouth. "We have other things to discuss Harry." She reminded him as he kissed down her jaw and moved one of his hands up her shirt.

"You started it." He smiled, continuing his ministrations.

She abruptly pulled away from him and reclined on the other side of the couch, making sure they were no longer touching. "What about you Harry? Are you waiting?" She teased him.

"Apparently I'm waiting until I'm seventeen." He was looking at her with undisguised lust in his eyes.

She couldn't help rubbing her thighs together. His look alone was enough to make her want to drop her panties. Coupled with his hand that was slowly travelling up her leg. "Harry." She warned, unconvincingly. Smiling.

"Ginny." He sounded like a predator about to devour his next meal. She bit her lip and that was all it took to set him off. He yanked her legs so she was lying down properly on the couch and came down on top of her, attacking her mouth. She was responding to his kiss, and moaned against his mouth. His desires from the previous night were so fresh in his mind. He was desperate to feel that high again. His hand was under her bra in an instant, the other was beside her head, trying to put weight on it so he didn't crush her. He settled himself between her legs and wished she was wearing a skirt.

The idea of having nothing but a thin layer of cotton between them was making him unbearably hard. He was suddenly too hot and pulled back as quickly as he'd pounced to rip his shirt over his head. Ginny put a hand on his chest to stop him from coming back down again.

He stilled, looking into her wide eyes. She looked startled. He swallowed deeply. Was he pushing her right now? She'd said she liked it before. Almost involuntarily he rubbed against her again and her eyes slid shut. He did it again. And again.

"Harry." She panted. "We really have to. Oh, that feels good." She ran her hand up his chest and around his neck to pull him back down to her.

()()()()()()

"Oi! Stay awake this time." She smiled as Harry lay sandwiched between her and the back of the couch.

"I'll try." He smiled into her shoulder with his eyes closed.

"We were to talk about my altercation with Hermione earlier." She reminded him.

"Ugh. Do we have to, right after…" He tugged her tighter into him.

"Getting off?" She offered chuckling. "Well it's that or my brother."

"Yep, that's the lesser of two evils. Okay, so what exactly happened? She looked like she wanted to look anywhere but at you at breakfast."

"Well, when she got back to the dorm this morning I did tease her lightly about being with Ron all night. Then Luna skipped in and asked when I'd snuck out of the dorm. Oh, by the way. My dorm was empty all night. But anyways, Luna mentioned you having my bra, and Hermione said my taking my bra off in your bed was 'fast'." She used finger quotes.

"You know she means well." He ran his hand up and down her side, not finding himself able to stop touching her.

"If I said her being in my brothers bed all night was fast, do you think she'd be okay with that comment?" She raised her eyebrow at him.

"She'd probably have a cow." He agreed. His eyes were still closed with his relaxed state.

"Harry, there's a reason why Luna is my only female friend. Girls are… bitches. They make comments and get too emotional. Hermione is no different, she just doesn't realize it."

"You and Luna are girls." He pointed out.

"We are a different kind of girl. For instance, Luna shagged Neville last night, and I asked 'what position?' Well, I also asked about contraception, but it was a high five moment, not a 'whoa you're a slut' moment, which is exactly the vibe I get from Hermione."

"You don't think the two of you will ever get on?" His eyes were open now and he rested his head on his hand looking down to read her facial expression.

She stared into his green eyes, knowing he was hoping she'd say 'yes'. "I know you want us to, but forcing a friendship doesn't work. You and Ron weren't even friends with her until that Troll incident, before that Ron said she was annoying. Right now, I'm at the annoyed phase. She's basically called me easy, twice."

"So, all I have to do is find a troll?"

"Yes Harry, that's exactly what I'm saying." They laughed.

"Alright, I won't push it." He sighed.

"Now, what about the last item on our agenda?" She scrunched up her nose.

"Then we can loop back around to your disappearing act. Ron was pissed, but he seems to be fine with it. Just doesn't want to know what we get up to."

"I'll make a mental note not to snog you furiously in the common room then." Ginny grinned.

"Right. About that." Harry sat up. "While it's great for me that Ron and Hermione know now, we should probably still keep our relationship under wraps."

"What? Why?" Ginny sat up too and handed him his shirt.

"Look, with Voldemort still gunning after me, I don't want you to turn into some sort of pawn he thinks he can use." He pulled the shirt over his head and took her hand.

"You want me to be your little secret to protect me?" She asked him incredulously.

"Yes. He tried to use Sirius last year, and I worry that he'd find a way to get you if he knew we were together." He said as though it were obvious.

"But I'm already a target being a Weasley, and your friend." She pointed out. She was getting overly irritated, and in the back of her head, she knew it wasn't completely justified. He was just worried.

"Well I don't want to pile on now do I?" Harry shrugged, as though it was obvious.

"So what? You just want to put me up on a fucking shelf and pull me down whenever you find you can make time for me?" She was getting angry, and louder.

"That's not what I'm saying." He argued.

"Well, what you're saying sounds a hell of a lot like you have no problem having me for a bed fellow, but you'll be damned if you'll let me in as part of your life in general."

"Ginny, you have no idea the lengths he'll go to!"

And just like that Ginny felt like a glass sphere that held all secrets was about to burst. She was furious. As if she didn't know the lengths that Tom Riddle would go to. She knew better than almost anyone! She wanted to tell him. Yell at him about just how much different her life would be if she didn't know the lengths that man had went to becoming the most feared man in recent history.

"You know what Harry. That disappearing act that I pulled earlier. We can't discuss it right now, because I've got to pull another one before one of us says something we can't take back." She hissed.

With that she got up and left, leaving a very confused Harry Potter alone to contemplate what the hell just happened.

()()()()()()()

"Luna, I need to talk to you." Ginny said to her best friend at the Ravenclaw table. It was a day after the room of requirement with Harry and Ginny had been grappling with the growing divide in her 'relationship', and she was at the point of bursting.

"Is this something to do with the confused Nargles that are floating around your head?" Luna asked her calmly.

"Yes" Ginny admitted. Luna was a complete space cadet to most people, but Ginny spoke her language, and damn if that girl didn't just know what was going on. "And there isn't really anyone else that I can talk to about it. It isn't like Ethan would understand, or care. And Neville is a little too close, you know?"

Luna nodded and spooned yogurt onto her toast. "Well I suspect you wouldn't like to discuss it here."

"You suspect correctly." Ginny nodded and averted her eyes from Luna's breakfast. It looked disgusting. "After breakfast, let's go for a walk to the lake before classes."

Ginny looked over at the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione were seated side by side, Harry had his back to her and was sitting across from them. He'd seemed a little distracted after their talk yesterday, which she had been grateful for, since she too was a little distracted.

After she'd basically run from the room she cooled off pretty quickly. She knew where he was coming from. It still pissed her off that he would try to shelter her like that, but it wasn't his fault that he didn't know why she wouldn't need it. She was nowhere near as angry as she had been at the time, but she was still angry.

She drank some coffee and ate a little food while she waited for Luna to finish up. Luna was in no hurry it seemed, but Ginny was rather anxious for some girl talk and advice. Hestia and Norma were filling her in on all of the fifth-year gossip while she waited. They were also asking about what happened to make Parvati and Lavender suddenly so endeared to her. Apparently the two Gryffindor girls thought themselves to be great friends with Ginny now that they had managed to get dates to Hogsmeade with the boys they fancied.

Finally, Luna finished every morsel on her plate and drained the last of her pumpkin juice and Ginny dragged her outside.

"Okay, so here's the situation." Ginny launched into it as soon as they were away from potential eavesdroppers. "I really like Harry, I do. We've been sneaking around for months now, and the snogging is the best I've had so far. We talk a bit, but never about anything important. I know he has a pile of shit going on, and I know he talks to Ron and Hermione about it all the time. I can see the concern in Hermione's face time to time when she looks at him. I just feel that if this relationship was supposed to grow into anything meaningful, or worthy of us even telling people that there is a relationship, then he should be telling me some of the serious things too, right?"

Luna twirled her hair and gazed out at the lake while Ginny rambled out her problem. "And are you willing to tell him your secrets too?"

Ginny frowned and stared out at the water herself. "The thing is, with my secret, it isn't just my secret." She knew that Luna didn't know what this secret was, nor would she ask and it didn't bother her.

"Maybe that is the same thing for Harry."

"Well how is it that he can run over to Ron and Hermione the second he gets out of Dumbledore's office, but he can't tell the person he's been feeling up in alcoves for the past months?!" She let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not normally like this." She said through her hands, now covering her face.

"Do you maybe want to tell me about the other guy? It would probably feel good to get it off your chest."

Ginny groaned, she didn't even question how Luna knew. "I can't. That is part of the secret. It isn't like I've cheated on Harry, but I feel rather detached from him when I'm around the other guy. I think Harry see's me as some kind of reprieve from the shit cards he's been dealt all his life, and part of me wants that for him. But another part of me just knows that when it comes time to tell the secret all hell is going to break loose anyways. And this other guy already knows. We've… bonded."

"It doesn't seem particularly nice to be stringing poor Harry along then does it?"

Ginny's jaw dropped at that. "I'm not stringing him along! I'm trying to figure out what I want!"

"And you want this other guy."

Ginny pondered. She'd had a dream or two that involved Draco, and those weren't particularly kinky dreams, they had just made her feel supported. Draco and she had leaned on each other. He was getting a shit deal with the cards he'd been dealt too. However a romantic relationship between the two of them would be entirely complicated. Another part of her brain said that the relationship she currently had with Harry was also entirely complicated, so what difference does it make.

"He's been shagging other girls." Ginny said, for lack of anything better to say.

"And?" Luna asked.

Ginny snickered a bit. "And I know it doesn't matter. I don't even know why I said it."

"Do you think if you and Harry broke up and you decided to be with this person that he'd expect sex?"

This is why it was so good to talk to Luna, she spoke so candidly that it helped Ginny sort through her feelings.

"He knows I'm a virgin, Harry too for that matter, and that I don't plan on changing that soon." Ginny chewed her lip. "Forget about the other guy. Even if there were any potential there, right now my problem is with my current romantic relationship. My decision on whether or not to remain with Harry is not predicated on whether or not I will be in a relationship with this other person."

"Trust is the basis for a lasting relationship. You don't trust Harry and it seems Harry isn't trusting you."

Ginny stopped walking, she knew that this would be the answer she'd get. "I know it's a little messed up. But, my biggest hurdle right now is that he doesn't want to go public with our relationship, even though Ron now knows. I had thought that was what held him back. Now he says it is because Voldemort is after him, so he could come after me to hurt him."

"I can see that happening." Luna nodded, still staring out at the water. "You're not sure you want to keep sneaking around with him?"

Ginny heaved a big sigh. "I'm super conflicted about it. I don't want to be infantilized. I have six older brothers to protect me, I would think that my boyfriend would think I could protect myself."

"By running away to Ilvermory again?"

Ginny's eye's widened looking at Luna. Ginny knew that Luna saw right through most smoke screens, but she didn't think she knew that Ginny had been 'running away' when she went to Ilvermory.

Luna turned to look straight into Ginny's eyes. It was almost frightening, her blue orbs seemed to see right into the depths of your soul. "I know you went there to hide from something. I don't need to know what it was, but you are still hiding, and until you are ready to stop then you aren't being fair to Harry."

"You're right." Ginny replied glumly. She toed her shoe into the ground a bit. "There's something else too." Ginny sighed. "So, when we're fooling around, everything feels great… for the first little bit. Then it starts to feel wrong. Very wrong. And I always find a reason to get away. Homework, meeting up with you, tired, whatever. I really like Harry, but I feel weird about it sometimes."

Luna looked at her speculatively. "You don't love him then?" Ginny shook her head. "You've been carrying on for a long time for someone who doesn't love him. Why is that? You are taking this relationship seriously enough."

Ginny knew that that was the make it or break it question.

()()()()()()()()()

Harry sat staring blankly at his potions essay. It was supposed to be his potions essay anyways, he hadn't written a single word of it. After Ginny had left the Room or Requirement a few days earlier they hadn't seen much of each other outside of class. And they weren't talking in class either. She would barely look at him. He'd told Ron and Hermione that they were kind of at a standstill after he suggested continuing to keep their relationship quiet. Ron looked confused while Hermione looked like she understood immediately why.

That annoyed him.

He didn't talk much to anyone in the past week, and it was a Hogsmeade weekend coming up. The first one he was going to take Ginny on. He couldn't help thinking of all the places he'd wanted to take her. And now he just didn't know what was going on.

"Need a hand with that?" He closed his eyes. Her voice had such a power over him. He could feel her sit in the seat beside him.

"Ginny." He said almost painfully.

"I don't want to just keep avoiding each other. Obviously your school work is suffering."

He forced himself to turn and look at her. 'Damn her for looking so good. And smelling so good.' He thought, then his eyes took in her appearance. 'Does she have more buttons undone on her top than normal?'. It had been four days since they last spent time together. He almost forgot what her lips felt like. 'Oh God. She's wearing a skirt.'

"This book helped me with Slughorn's essay." She slid a book over to him. Leaning down slightly so he could see down her shirt.

"Thanks." He swallowed.

"So Hogsmeade is in two days." She started. He knew she could see the jolt of excitement he felt with her bringing it up. She smiled. "It seems that each of our best friends are paired up, leaving us as the third wheels. I thought you might be interested in showing me around?"

"Yes." He said instantly. She did a quick look around, checking the coast was clear, and pulled him into a deep kiss. He had to clutch the side of the table to stop himself from throwing her on the table and climbing on top of her. She nipped his bottom lip rather hard and pulled away when he yelped softly. "What was that?" He asked quietly, bringing his hand up to his lip.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew, we're still in a fight." She said leaning into him and moving her hand to trace his bottom lip with her thumb. Before resting her hand on his thigh.

He gave her a dazed look. As far as he was concerned, if this was what fighting with Ginny was like, they could carry on fighting. She'd obviously set out to tease him and it worked. He gave her a dopey grin. "Thanks for the book."

"No problem." She said sweetly getting up from her seat. In the process she'd put a little extra weight on his leg and 'accidentally' brushed his crotch, which was bulging slightly. "Ta."

Harry watched her walk away behind the bookshelves. He so loved watching the way she walked away. He smiled and looked back down at his blank parchment. His smile dropped. He'd completely forgotten what the essay was supposed to be about.

()()()()()()()()

"Any Progress?" Ginny asked Draco as she followed him into the Room of Requirement. It was now Friday and she wanted to hang out with Draco before the Hogsmeade weekend.

"They sent an apple back." Ginny clutched his cloak sleeve. Draco stopped and faced her. "There is still quite a bit more work to do before it is ready for human transport." He assured her taking in her shocked expression and giving her a reassuring smile. She nodded and relaxed. "How are things with you and Scarhead? I've noticed some odd behavior between the two of you. Trouble in paradise?" he tried not to sound too hopeful.

"You'll be delighted to hear that we did not break-up. We are just going through something." She said lightly.

"You know, if you're still with him out of fear of not finding another partner for your innocent snogging sessions, I'm pretty sure I know someone willing to take that bullet."

She smiled slowly. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm not currently taking applications." She teased. He'd been getting rather flirty with her over the course of their meet-ups, she couldn't stop herself from flirting back some times. "Not enough bimbo's in this school willing to give it up in darkened broom cupboards for you?" She walked on.

He stared at her ass as she walked. What he wouldn't give to throw her down on a bed right now.

A bed materialized in front of her and she fell onto the mattress. He would have laughed if he wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed, and turned on seeing her splayed out in the bed.

"Damn it, Draco!" She yelped after getting over her surprise.

"Sorry, couldn't help it." He was not sorry. She was wearing a skirt today, and her knickers, as it turned out, were black and silky looking. The bed was now blocking the aisle and they both needed to crawl over it to get to their destination.

"So, what is your next phase in the 'beam me up Scotty' project?" Ginny asked when they reached the Vanishing Cabinet. It still looked the same, she had expected it to look different, unsure why.

"The what project?" Draco gave her a funny look, as though concerned for her sanity.

"Sorry, Muggle reference. What is your next step in fixing the cabinet?" She shook her head. Ethan had made her watch a show called Star Trek in the Ilvermory common rooms. All the boys seemed to love it, she thought it was ludicrous.

"I'll be sending a live animal next. You don't happen to have one of those Puffekin things that your brothers sell, do you?" He smiled at her.

"They are called Pygmy Puffs, and no, I do not have one. Bloody things drove me mad all summer. Kept getting out of their enclosure and I'd find them all over the store."

Draco smiled imagining her chasing little fluff balls across shelving and yelling victoriously when she caught one. He wanted to ask more about what was going on with her and Potter. He wanted to find any reason he could to keep her there with him all night again. Since starting back to school this year, she was really his only friend. It had come as a shock to him when he'd realized that.

Crabbe and Goyle had only ever been more like body guards for him. Zabini was kind of cool, but he was staying well away from anything to do with the upcoming war, and knew that Draco was going to be forced to be in the thick of it, so he made sure to stay away from him. Nott was actually on his way to becoming a junior Death Eater himself and Draco mostly ignored him because he couldn't be trusted. Most of the girls in his year were too friendly, Pansy Parkinson was still trying to hang off of him, but he really couldn't stand her, Greengrass was alright, but he'd shagged her before so that made it difficult to cultivate a friendship. The only other Slytherin in his year was Bulstrode, and he'd pass on that, she was an idiot.

That left Ginny, she'd basically become his everything. It was killing him that she was with Potter. "So, what's got you down this week?" He asked her finally. It was the most casual way he could think of to ask her about her relationship status.

She sighed and sat on the floor. Draco and Ginny both had craziness going on in their lives, and they were each-others confidants, and she needed that as much as he did. "You know, I've told you more of my secrets than anyone else?"

Draco nodded. He was confused. Did that mean she had more secrets?

"Do you know that nail polish, Gosh Wow? It goes on clear and you can make it turn whatever color you want it to be and stays that way?"

Again, Draco nodded. "I know my mother loves it. Raved about it to her friends when she first tried it. What the hell does that have to do with anything? You want a bottle for Christmas?"

Ginny laughed. "Trust me, if I wanted a bottle, I could get one myself."

"Well, I know it is expensive." He said gingerly.

"Ha! I am well aware." She smiled and shook her head lightly. "I've regretted the name of it since it came out."

"Regretted the name? You named it?" He was even more confused now.

"I invented it. Gosh Wow, GW. Thought it was clever." She rolled her eyes.

Draco's mouth dropped open. "Invented it? But it's been out for a few years now."

She nodded. "Three years, yeah." She bit her lip. "I made it my first year, patented it, then sold it to Wonder Witch, get a percentage of the sale profits. That's how I afforded to go to Ilvermory. Forged a letter telling my parents I got a scholarship."

Draco was stunned. She was eleven when she'd created something that's probably made her a fortune, and would continue to do so. Though, now he was confused again. "What does that have to do with you being in a bad mood this week?"

"Nothing." She said simply. "It was just something that I hadn't told you, and you know one of my biggest secrets." She gestured to her necklace. "I didn't want to hide my other one from you anymore."

"Why would you hide that?" He asked her sincerely. "You should be proud. That's amazing."

Ginny shrugged. "Talk of money makes my family uncomfortable. Mostly my parents and Ron, but I just got so used to hiding it that I don't make mention of it to anyone."

Now more than ever Draco was fighting the urge to lean over and kiss her. "This isn't fair." He muttered under his breath.

"What isn't fair?" She asked. She'd only just barely heard him.

He looked her dead in the eye. "You shouldn't be with Potter. You should be with me."

 **AN- There, he admitted it. And all you Hinny fans, no sniping. There is a rhyme and a reason. If you haven't figured it out yet, then stay tuned. I don't want any reviews from Draco haters. You will just have to wait and see what happens.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Now... where did we leave off...**

Ginny stared at him in shock. She'd basically admitted to Luna that she harbored those feelings for him as well, but her feelings for Harry, jumbled as they were, had won out so she'd been trying to squash them. She had trouble focusing. "I. Have to go."

"Ginny." He put his hand out to stop her. "I'm sorry. Look. I know that you're with him, and I."

"No, you look. I trust you, I care about you, and I am attracted to you." She admitted. "But all of this" She gestured at the cabinet and her necklace. "Plus, my supposed boyfriend being who he is, it's making my life complicated already."

"I'm not trying to complicate your life. I just couldn't keep that to myself any longer. Because it doesn't matter how many bimbo's there are in this school, you are the one that I keep thinking about." He stood up. "You aren't happy with him." He held back at this point, he was trying to suppress the spoilt only child in him that wanted to stomp his foot and demand that it was his turn.

"It's true, I am angry with him about something right now. And honestly, I am confused about the state of our relationship. I am also confused about the state of _our_ relationship." She gestured between the two of them.

"But there is a part of you that wants to be with me instead?" He couldn't help gripping her elbow and bringing her closer.

Ginny involuntarily licked her lips. Draco stared into her eyes and gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She nodded, not trusting her voice. He made to move closer, but she twisted her arm out of his grasp and took a step back. "I won't cheat on him."

"Then I will just have to wait for the day that you end it with him." He told her quietly with more tenderness than he knew he had.

"I can't keep doing this if you are going to try something every time." She whispered and didn't meet his eye.

He raised his hands. "I promise, from here on out I will wait until you make the first move." He told her in a low voice, his eyes were almost daring her to make a move right then and there.

Ginny smiled softly at him and nodded. "I'm going to head back to my dorm now." She said quietly. "Have fun in Hogsmeade."

As she walked away he realized she'd said 'supposed boyfriend'. His heart jumped in his chest at that. Maybe there was more hope than he'd thought.

()()()()()()()()

Harry was bouncing his knee in anticipation. Technically today was his first date with Ginny. Although, technically they were supposed to be going to Hogsmeade as 'friends', since all of their other friends were paired off and going on their own dates, including Ron and Hermione, that meant that they'd be alone together.

"Oi, what are you so bouncy about?" Ron asked him.

"Just excited about the Hogsmeade visit today." He smiled.

Hermione smirked at him. "Just the Hogsmeade visit, eh?"

"Well, I mean, I am going to show Ginny around the village, maybe grab a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, you know." He shrugged. His palms were sweating slightly. He and Ginny still hadn't quite made up, or come to an agreement on the state of their relationship. She was obviously still angry with him, but he hoped to make that up to her.

"Careful, yeah?" Ron said to him under his breath. They weren't sitting close to anyone so they shouldn't be overheard.

"Yeah, yeah." Harry responded and looked over to the doors to see Ginny walk in. She headed straight for them.

"Morning." She said sitting down.

"You excited about Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked hesitantly. They still had not talked much since Ginny went off on her the previous weekend.

"I do have a whole list of things that I need to get. I was hoping some strapping man could help me with my bags. Any takers?" She teased at Harry.

"Well" He shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do." feigning nonchalance.

"Music to my ears Potter." Then she turned to Hermione. "I actually have a favor to ask you. Kind of a big one considering you and Ron are probably planning on spending your first Hogsmeade visit as boyfriend and girlfriend being all lovey-dovey."

Ron stared at her confused.

"What is it?" Hermione asked slowly.

"I've got that wedding to go to over the holidays, and it's a Muggle wedding. So, I was hoping you could help me pick out appropriate dress robes?" Ginny glanced quickly over to Harry.

Harry, for his part, could not contain the grin that came to his face. She was making an effort to bond with Hermione. Because he asked her to. He wanted to kiss her right there.

Hermione blushed a bit, also catching on to what this meant. "I'd love to!" She said a bit too loudly. "You don't mind do you Ron?"

"I won't borrow her for too long. You can take that time to pick her out something nice for Christmas." Ginny promised him, whilst also reminding him to get her a nice 'boyfriend' present for Christmas. "You can help him with that." She turned to Harry.

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at that. "So, is it indoors?"

"Uh… That's a good question. Ethan didn't tell me. I know it's at the family property, but I would assume they just cleaned out the barn."

"Barn?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. They are a farming family. They raise horses." Ginny explained.

"Can you ride?"

"Sure. Learned to when I was twelve. Went home with Ethan for my first American Thanksgiving. Been going there for every holiday during the school year since I started at Ilvermory. I am to Ethan's family what Harry is to mine. Except I've never snogged one of them." She smirked saying the last part quietly.

Harry choked a little on his pumpkin juice at that part, and the rest of them laughed at him.

()()()()()()()()()

"Did you manage to find something decent?" Harry asked Ginny after they bid farewell to Hermione and Ron. The boys had started into their holiday shopping while the girls were at the dress shop.

"No, I did find something scandalous though. Black and tight with a slit up the leg. The neck line plunges right down to there." She indicated to the point between her breasts. Harry's eyes glazed over slightly as he stared at her hand on her chest.

"I. Uh. Really?" He managed.

"No" She laughed. "I did find something that'll work. They're going to send it up to the school when it comes in." She looped her arm through his. "So, what's the plan? I need to get some Christmas presents for friends and family, where should I be going?"

Harry looked down at their linked arms and looked around the streets of Hogsmeade to see if anyone might have been looking at them. Then back to their arms.

Ginny was looking up at the names of the shops, then over to him when he didn't respond. She followed his eye line and her smile dropped and she pulled her arm back. "Never mind, I'll just start heading over to Honeydukes." She started away from him.

Harry stood there a moment watching her walk away. He knew he'd messed up. There was no harm in the two of them linking arms. He wouldn't have thought twice about it if it were Hermione. He hurried up after her. "Sorry." He mumbled in her ear as he drew up beside her.

"Just leave it." She muttered back.

Harry followed her around dutifully to a bunch of different shops. She had six brothers and her parents and friends to get gifts for, he too had a few gifts to purchase, and Ginny helped him pick out a few things.

He stood outside of a beauty shop while she went in to grab a bottle of nail polish for Luna. "Can't you get a bunch of that shipped to you for no charge?" He asked as she came out of the shop.

"It isn't the same. Presents are more about the effort put in. I would feel like I'd ripped her off if I just sent an Owl to Wonder Witch to get them to ship me the bottles. And I even bought one for Hermione." She pointed out.

"Right. Did the dress shopping work as being your troll?" He asked lightly.

"Not quite. But it is super awkward trying to force the friendship." She watched his expression at that. "I know she's nice, Harry. We're working on it."

He nodded. "Ready for a Butterbeer?"

"Three Broomsticks?"

"I was actually thinking the Hogshead." After the mention from Ron at breakfast about being careful he realized that the Three Broomsticks would have way more gossiping girls than the Hogshead would, and Butterbeer was Butterbeer.

Ginny regarded him carefully. She'd only been there once before, and it was only because she needed to use the floo. It was not a nice place by any means, and she knew he wanted to take her there because they were less likely to be seen. "Okay."

The trudged through the snow on the off beaten path to the Hogshead, and sure enough there were no other students there.

"Quaint." Ginny commented at the dreary atmosphere. "Do they serve food?" She was hungry.

"Uh, I don't know. Probably wouldn't trust it." He led them to a table where he could watch the entrance.

"Oh. Then, just the Butterbeer then." Ginny gritted her teeth and pulled off her scarf and sat down with her bag. She'd managed to have most of the gifts she'd purchased either sent back to the castle, or shrunk them down to fit in just one bag.

Harry went up to the counter to order their drinks and brought them back, taking the seat across from her. He reached out to grab her hand that was on the table, but pulled back. Ginny watched this movement carefully.

"So, how's your week been?" Harry asked her awkwardly. He had no idea what to talk to her about. It was only after he'd asked that he realized he'd seen her all week, and they'd been in a row.

She saw his internal chastising and steadied herself to just rip off the band-aid. "Well, after spending the night with my Quidditch Captain he pissed me off and I spent the majority of the week wondering if it was worth it or not."

Harry froze with his bottle half way to his mouth.

Ginny was locking eyes with him and drinking down her bottle. "Go on Harry. A little booze in your system has been proven to get you saying what you want said. You were behaving all kinds of weird the weeks previous to the last. A little Fire whiskey in you and you were pretty vocal about what was on your mind." She wasn't trying to be vicious, but they needed to talk about this, and she didn't want to beat around the bush any more.

"Um. I kind of figured you were still mad." Actually, he didn't 'kind of figure', he knew. And Harry knew this was going to be 'the conversation'. Her reaction to him telling her he wanted to protect her really set her off. He hadn't seen her mad like that before.

"Remember how I said Hermione got on my nerves because she was patronizing me?"

"I do recall, yeah." He was tense.

"And, do you remember last year when no one would tell you anything after the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but I sent you that letter?" She gave him a false smile.

"Yeah." He was ready to bury his face in the sand now.

"Everyone had been treating you like you were pretty breakable weren't they? Bet you didn't appreciate that." She waited a moment for that to sink in. She dropped her false smile. This was hurting her to bring up, but she'd weighed her pro's and con's, and kept coming around to the same thing. "Harry, I'm not saying that I want you to tell me what it is you get up to with Dumbledore. I feel like I'm repeating myself on that one. But I've had enough of broom closets and empty classrooms, especially when you already have that one part of your life closed off to me." She leaned forward and ran her thumb over the neck of the bottle she was clutching, looking down at it, trying to find the courage to say what needed to be said. "Harry, we already have so much that we aren't saying to each other. We're basically just teammates that make-out occasionally. I kind of thought that once Ron knew we would move forward with a proper relationship. Now you're saying we can't and it's for my protection. I'm kind of not interested in that."

"Ginny." He started. "I want more, really I do. But I can't do that right now. Not with Him back. The whole Order knows he's after me. I can't get you involved with that."

Ginny looked up into his green eyes. It had been killing her, grappling with this decision, but the thing was that it was the secrets that she couldn't tell him too that were eating her up inside too. "Harry. This between us it was fun and adventurous. But it's been nearly three months now. I don't want to just stay in this holding pattern until shit really hits the fan, at which point I'll probably have decided I love you, then you end it for my protection." She took a deep breath and forced herself to look directly into his eyes. "I think we're done."

Harry remained silent for a while after that, contemplating just how plausible that situation she'd rattled off just might come to be. "So, what now?" Harry asked her.

"Now we give friendship a try."

"We are friends." He sulked quietly.

"We give only friendship a try. I care about you Harry. I sit beside you in class, we're on the same Quidditch team, we can't avoid each other. But I want to be just friends. I can't deal with the unsureness I've been feeling. I don't like it." She looked down at her bottle again.

"Is there someone else?" He asked through gritted teeth.

She looked back up at him startled. "Why would you ask that?"

"Well, you get asked out pretty regularly, I just want to know." Now he was sniping at her. He couldn't gauge what emotions he was feeling right now. He wanted to scream, yell, cry, or grab her and never let her go. Instead he was getting defensive.

"Thankfully that has calmed down dramatically. It was just because I was new." She said dismissively.

"No it wasn't." He informed her. "And that wasn't a no."

"It wasn't. But I think that was a bitter question for you to ask. What would you do if I said yes?" She snapped. He was being petulant, and she really felt like she was making the right decision for both of them here.

Harry didn't have an answer for her. He was staring down at the table, clenching and un-clenching his fists.

"Do you want me to just leave?" She asked.

"No. I don't want to break-up either." He answered honestly and bitterly.

"Well you aren't the only person involved here." She pointed out.

"Tell me what to do then. What would make you happy? Make you stay with me?" He met her eyes again.

"Harry" She almost whined. "A relationship is more than just sneaking off for snogs. You can't offer more than that right now."

"And I may never be able to." He muttered angrily.

Ginny closed her eyes. "Why do you think that?" Harry didn't answer her. She calmed down and her shoulders sagged. She asked him sadly. "Do you think if I had stayed at Hogwarts instead of going to Ilvermory that you would be able to give me an answer to that?" Harry couldn't do any more than stare at her. There wasn't anything more she could say, and he wasn't talking. "Maybe I should go."

Ginny rose slowly and wrapped her scarf around her neck again. She was waiting for him to stop her. He didn't. He was just looking morosely at the table. It was a punch to the gut, this whole situation. She left.

Trudging back through the snow she headed up to the castle. She wasn't being fair to Harry. She knew it sounded like he was the one holding back their relationship, and if she told him her story, he'd probably tell her his. They were both deeply involved in the quest to put an end to Voldemort. If that was the only problem then they would probably be able to laugh at their stubbornness later. But, that uncomfortable feeling she got after spending long periods of time with him had been disconcerting also, and she could never quite figure out why it happened. Maybe they just weren't meant to be, it had all been a mistake.

She didn't really think that though. Whenever she'd see him smile it made her happy. When they'd initially touch, she would feel warm. She did want him, there was just something... wrong.

But there was also Draco. She liked him. A lot. She kind of lusted after him a bit. When they hung out she never walked away with a nagging feeling of wrongness, or looked for an excuse to leave. More often than not, when they hung out she tried to find a reason to stay with him longer. That wasn't fair to Harry. She wanted both of them and she was confused. Aren't guys able to juggle two girls? She wished she could be like those guys. Hell, either way it'd have to be a secret relationship, how much easier could it get? But no, she wasn't like that. Harry had asked her if there was someone else, and there was. Someone who had told her the day before that he wanted her and she'd basically told him she wanted him too.

Ginny shook her head, she couldn't just go jump Draco right now. She needed to break shit and clear her head. She made it back to the castle and up to her dorm to drop off her purchases. The whole walk back she'd repeated every thought over and over again and she was agitated.

There was actual serious shit going on in her life and she was worried about boys.

After depositing her things, she went to the seventh floor. Draco had taught her how to use the room. She paced back and forth in front of the spot where the door would appear thinking about all manner of breakable items, and a baseball bat. But the door didn't appear.

Maybe she did it wrong? It worked for getting to the room she and Draco always met in. 'That has enough breakable items' she reasoned. She tried again thinking over and over what Draco had told her and the door appeared. She smiled and stepped through it.

Once she closed the door, she heard a banging noise. It was coming from the direction of the vanishing cabinet. Carefully she made her way towards it. She peered around the corner of the aisle and saw Draco breaking furniture.

He was swinging what looked like a table leg over and over again. His face was set in a scowl and he had his shirt off. He'd obviously been doing this for a while because he was sweating a little. Ginny bit her lip taking in his lean form and the outline of his biceps. They twitched and bulged as he gripped his club and kept swinging. He ran a hand through his hair to push it back and out of his eyes and took a deep breath.

His body was turned her direction and she could see the 'V' formation his hips formed as the line descended into his trousers. She couldn't not look at the faint line of hair that ran down from his belly button. She felt herself clench below the waist and leaned back from her spot around the corner from him. She tried to squelch her desire to go up to him and wrap her arms around him and press herself up against what lay beneath that treasure trail of hair.

Ginny shook herself again, she had officially been broken up with Harry for an hour and a half! It was too soon, and Draco couldn't know. If she told him, even though he'd said she had to make the next move, she knew he'd try to come on to her.

Oh, how she wanted that right then. Instead she made herself comfortable to wait out for a bit.

The sound of his assault on the furniture was becoming more infrequent. She sat down where she was and decided to wait for it to stop. Hopefully he'd put his shirt back on by the time she checked again.

The minutes ticked by and he kept going at it. His stamina was making her think naughty thoughts. He could use up a lot of energy over a long period of time. Ginny had the overwhelming urge to touch herself then. 'Fuck, I really need to break something.'

A glass vase materialized in front of her and before thinking she threw it at the wall of stuff across from her.

As she heard the satisfying crash she froze. The whacking noise had stopped. She sighed and stood up. Clearly he'd heard that and would come and check it out. She'd just straightened her shirt when she felt something gab into her neck.

"Ginny?" Draco asked astonished and lowered his wand. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to Hogsmeade."

"I. Um. Can. Can you put your shirt on?" She was having trouble stopping herself from reaching out to touch him. He gave her a stare for a moment and smirked before turning back down the aisle to where his shirt lay. "I tried to turn the room into something and it didn't work. So, I tried to get this room because it would have served my purpose too. I didn't realize you were here. Did you not go to Hogsmeade?"

"No. I had no need for anything from there. Didn't you go?"

"I went, and came back. I, um." She swallowed and picked up the table leg he'd been swinging. "I kind of needed to let off some steam. Apparently, you and I have the same methods for that."

"What is it that's bothering you?" He asked her carefully.

"Things. And you?"

"Things." He said slowly, his slate grey eyes looking deep into her cinnamon ones.

She lay the table leg over her shoulder. "Well, okay then." And she headed off down the aisle before she started swinging.

Draco couldn't help smiling and watching her let go.

()()()()()()()

November gave way into December and Ginny had fallen into a routine. She and Harry weren't spending any more time together than necessary during class and Quidditch practice. He was giving her lingering glances and she'd shift uncomfortably at them. She'd wanted to try and fall into a friendship with him, like she had with her first boyfriend, but it seemed Harry still wanted more. And she was fighting with the butterfly's she'd feel when she'd catch his smoldering eyes every time she'd catch him staring.

She was being careful with Draco too. She'd caught herself staring at him a few times in the Great Hall without meaning to, and hoped no one else had noticed. Her desire for him kept growing, and she found herself flirting with him stealthily. During Potions she'd intentionally brushed up against him while they were collecting ingredients. He called her out on it at their next meet-up, she feigned innocence and smirked at him. He couldn't contain his smile at that and chuckled.

Since then they made a little game of 'accidentally' bumping into each other in the halls, library and classrooms and snipping at the other person.

Ron had given her a hard time about her break-up with Harry, more so than Harry himself. It was ironic really, considering how he was the one they'd been trying to keep it from. Hermione was smart enough to keep her mouth shut.

Things finally relaxed around her and Harry after they had a shouting match during Quidditch practice at the end of November. The politeness had been grating the both of them, so after he tried to correct a play she'd made one too many times she snapped and they yelled at each other. The event culminated in her sending a bat boogey hex at him. She stood there waiting for the hex to run its course while the rest of the team, Ron included, looked on completely flummoxed.

Harry looked at her furiously after the last bat had been taken care of. Ginny dared him with her eyes to retaliate. She couldn't stop the corners of her mouth twitching up at the seriousness in his face and the ridiculousness of the situation. She started laughing, then he did too. The whole team was bent double laughing and Harry called an end to the practice after that.

Things had been much less awkward since then. She'd even joined the trio for breakfast a few times and shared private jokes with Harry making gagging noises over Ron and Hermione's PDA's.

Then, it was two weeks until holiday break and all the sixth years were waiting outside the Charms classroom. The seventh years class had run long, probably due to NEWT assignments, and Ginny was leaning back against the wall. The Slytherins had occupied the wall opposite and she'd let her mind wander. Draco was almost immediately opposite her. She hadn't realized she was staring at him again. He was twirling his wand in his fingers and she was mesmerized. She heard people chatting away around her, but it was all just a dull humming to her ears. Her eyes traveled up his arms and over his shoulders. She recalled seeing those strong arms and shoulders bare and swinging, and biceps flexing. It brought a stirring feeling below her belt.

She continued tracing his outline up his neck and to his chin. She followed the line of his bottom lip when someone came to stand in front of her. She blinked a few times trying to gain awareness of her surroundings again.

A seventh-year boy was standing in front of her looking at her expectantly. "Huh? What?" She came back to reality.

He gave her a pompous smirk. "I said 'Hey Ginny'."

"Oh! Hey… You." She said. His name was escaping her at the moment.

"Cormac." He said slowly.

"Right! McLaggen. I was getting there." She stood up properly from the wall.

"Of course. So, listen." He said with a determined slowness. "I've decided you would look fantastic on my arm at the Slug Club holiday party."

She could only stare at him as she processed what he said, then took note of how quiet everyone else had gotten. He was so supercilious that it was amusing to her. She tried to contain the urge to laugh. The process of which caused a blush to raise to her face.

He must have taken that as a yes. "I think you would look best in green with your lovely hair." He moved forward to grab a lock.

"Whoa buddy." She said stepping back against the wall. "Not interested."

"Come now." He smiled, baring all his teeth. "It should be a great time, a little drink, dinner, dancing." He lowered his voice as he listed off and waggled his eyebrows.

"She's not going with you. Leave her alone." Harry shoved Cormac's shoulder.

"Leave off Potter."

"You heard him." Ron stepped in. "Piss off. She's not going with you."

"You don't speak for her."

"He's not. He's just repeating what I've already told you. Now, I'm going to class." Ginny headed into the Charms classroom and went through the doorway at the same time as Draco. They knocked shoulders roughly trying to squeeze in.

"Watch it." He growled at her with a small twinkle in his eye.

"Right, how could I have forgotten. Beauty before brains." She mock bowed at him.

"Damn right." He sneered at her, but she saw one corner of his mouth tick up higher than the other as he fought back a smile.

"So, you admit it?" She asked evenly.

He looked confused. "Admit what?"

"That you're pretty stupid." She shrugged and snickered walking past him to her seat.

He sent a slight stinging hex at her and she jumped and turned back to him with wide eyes. He gave her a smile that to anyone else would look malicious. To her it sent a shiver down her spine to her center and she immediately turned back around to take her seat.

Harry slid in beside her. "Can you please not provoke him?" He asked her quietly with a worried tone. "I don't like how much he's been looking at you."

"But it's so easy, and fun." She smirked at him.

He rolled his eyes at her and pulled his books out. "Um, so about what Cormac asked you."

"Yeah?" She said, distracted as she pulled out her own books.

"It is kind of implied that anyone going to the party bring a guest…" Harry fiddled with his Charms textbook while he looked at her.

Ginny couldn't believe it. He couldn't even hold her arm when they _were_ going out. Now he was asking her to be his date to a party? "You want me to go with you to Slughorn's party?" She asked to be sure one hundred percent that that was what the was getting at.

"Um… yes?" He swallowed. "You know. Because it's less awkward with a friend." He said uneasily.

"Yeah, us going together wouldn't be awkward at all." She deadpanned.

"I just… Please?" His emerald eyes were pleading.

"Fine. As friends." She pressed.

"Definitely. As friends. Thank you." He beamed at her.

She couldn't help but chuckle lightly at his change of mood. Ginny leaned forward to Hermione in the row in front of them. "Hey Hermione?" She and Ron turned around. "Can I borrow a dress?"

"Oh! Are you going to the party now?" She asked excitedly and looked proudly over to Harry for a moment.

Ginny had pause at the other girls excitement. Her eyes shifted over to Ron who looked happy about that too. Then over to Harry who was blushing slightly at his two friend's inability to play it cool. Apparently, Harry did still hold out hope for them, even after a month apart.

 **AN- Yup. That happened. Don't hate me Hinny's.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Racy situation at the end.**

"It would seem that having a known Death Eater for a father limits my social acceptability." Draco explained when Ginny asked if he was going to the Slug Club party. "Not suited to be a date, or even an usher."

Ginny snorted at that. "Like a Malfoy would ever deign to do something as lowly as carrying food for other people."

Draco chuckled at her comment. He was standing with one arm resting on the cabinet and waving his wand at it, muttering his spell. "Shouldn't you be getting ready or something? It starts in an hour."

"I only need thirty minutes, and twenty of those minutes are travel time." She replied tossing a ball up in the air.

"Merlin, when Pansy was getting ready for the Yule Ball she took hours. I overheard Granger saying she was going to get ready about two hours ago."

"Yes, while unlike those girls I am just naturally gorgeous." She joked and flicked some of her hair over her shoulder.

"Well that's true." He said absentmindedly and they both stilled. He turned back to see her reaction out of the corner of his eye.

She had flushed slightly at his admission. Her feelings for Harry had definitely subsided over the last month, but she still didn't tell Draco they'd broken up. Ginny knew that with each relationship she'd had her starting off point had been where her last relationship had ended. Physically. And she and Harry's had ended right when they'd started getting each other off.

Draco was certainly experienced in that area. She hadn't been so conceited as to think he was waiting for her, avoiding trysts until she decided she wanted him, but she was very pleased to hear he thought she was gorgeous. She for sure couldn't tell him right now that she desperately wanted to see if every dream she'd had lately regarding him and this room would hold up, but in less than one hour she was supposed to be all dressed up and on the arm of some other guy.

"I'm going to pop down to the kitchens." She said trying to ease the awkwardness. "Just in case the food at the party sucks."

He nodded and turned back to the cabinet muttering his spell.

"Hey Draco?" She saw his jaw clench. "Just in case we don't get an opportunity to arrange something this week. Can we meet up here the night before holiday starts?"

"Okay."

She smiled and stepped between him and the cabinet to give him a hug. He closed his eyes and embraced her tighter. "What's this about?" He whispered.

"I wanted to." She replied quietly.

He sighed and buried his face in her neck. "You are killing me."

She ran her hands down his back to his hips. "Sorry." She mumbled, not meaning it.

He let her go and stepped back. "Have fun."

She rolled her eyes. "I just hope they have some liquor." He smiled at her and she fought the urge to give him a quick kiss farewell. Instead she turned to head down to the kitchens.

()()()()()()()()

"Ginny! There you are!" Hermione's voice rang out across the common room. Ginny jumped at the sudden verbal assault to her senses.

She saw the trio standing by the staircase. "Oh! You all look nice!" And they did. The boys looked quite dapper in their suits and Hermione had tamed her hair into beautiful soft curls and her dress was a very flattering blue.

"You aren't coming?" Harry asked her with a look of panic on his face.

"What? No, I am. I was just getting something from the kitchens in case the food was weird." She assured.

"Oh! I should have done that." Ron whined.

"But we're leaving in a minute!" Hermione said panicked.

"Calm down. I'll just go change and be right back." She gave Hermione a quizzical look and headed up the stairs.

Her dress and shoes were already laid out. She quickly peeled off her clothes and threw on the other ones and headed over to the vanity to put on tinted moisturizer, blush, lipstick and mascara, then waved her wand at her hair so it fell into long soft curls down her back and carefully pulled it back on one side and stuck it with a decorative bobby pin.

"Okay" She said to the three of them when she hurried back downstairs. "Let's go then."

Harry and Hermione stared at her in awe, for different reasons. Ron bobbed his head in assent and headed for the portrait hole.

"How did you do that so fast?" Hermione asked astounded.

"Well, I've been dressing myself since I was four. So, I've pretty much got the hang of it now." She answered confused at her astonishment.

Harry got over his surprise and chuckled. "You look great." He said and stepped toward her.

Ginny didn't know if he was going to try and give her a hug or a kiss or what, but the pursed lipped expression that involuntarily came over her face when he did so stopped him pretty quick.

"Shall we?" She tried asking lightly.

"Yes." Hermione picked up on the tension before she linked her arm with Harry and Ginny felt a phantom twinge at that. Harry caught it and looked put out. Ginny forced a smile and went over to Ron.

()()()()()()()()

The party was stuffy. The food was weird, and the music was terrible.

"How long do you think we have to stay?" Ginny asked the other three.

"Ginny!" Hermione admonished. "We only just got here!"

"Like, forty-five minutes ago! Tell me none of you is thinking about grabbing two bottles of that Elven wine and creating a sub-party or taking a night fly?"

Ron snorted and agreed. Harry looked appreciative of the idea too.

"We can't do that! It's wrong."

"Well this party is wrong. Come on Hermione." Ginny coaxed. "You know you want to." She smiled.

Hermione looked torn. "It's probably against the rules."

"So's spending the night in the boys dorms, but you don't have a problem with that." Ginny teased. "But, I guess you aren't quite cool enough for this." She said lightly with a small smile. Hermione's eyes narrowed at her, but the twitch in her lips was enough for Ginny. "Perfect. Harry, nip over there and distract Slughorn."

Harry gave her a pained expression. "Why me?"

"Seriously mate?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, seriously Golden Boy? Chosen one? Boy who lived?" Ginny added on. "Go distract Sluggy for five minutes, then we'll meet you in the corridor before finding somewhere nice and secluded for a drinking game." She pushed him in the Professors direction.

"Oh no! You have to come with me." Harry grabbed her hand.

"Why?"

"Shared pain. And he'll want to know who my _date_ was." He mocked.

She growled playfully at the use of the word 'date'. "Ron, you get the hooch. And don't get distracted!" Ginny told him before Harry pulled her through the crowd.

"Ah! My two most promising potions students!" Slughorn boomed as they drew near. He was clearly enjoying his party. He leaned down and stage whispered to Harry. "I suspected there might be something between you two!"

"We're, um, just friends." Harry said and let go of Ginny's hand unceremoniously.

"Yeah, Harry's actually scared of girls. See's me as more of a bloke with boobs." Ginny said nonchalantly.

Harry, for his part, nodded as though it was a totally natural thing to hear. "Yep, girls are harder to figure out than Divination charts. I'm just staying away from that mess."

Slughorn looked between both of their placid faces. "Oh. Well, that's a shame. You would make a beautiful couple. Quite like your parents did. Your mother was one of my favorites you know!" He said to Harry as he drunkenly gestured to his Slug Club photos on the wall.

Ginny saw Harry's expression darken. "Yes. You've told me."

"Well, this was fun, but I have to pee." Ginny said loudly and both men turned to her surprised.

"I'll escort you... to the loo." Harry said awkwardly trying not to laugh again.

Ginny smiled tightly and nodded at the Professor before she turned on her heal and made her way out of the crowd with Harry right behind her. They saw Ron and Hermione down the corridor a bit and they looked cozy.

"Oi! Cut that out." Ginny snapped her fingers at them. "Did you get it?" She asked Ron. He showed her two bottles tucked under his cloak.

"Where to?" Harry asked them.

They found an abandoned classroom near Gryffindor Tower and managed to have a pretty great time. Ginny was pleasantly surprised.

Harry and Ron carried on about Quidditch. She and Hermione talked about the holidays and the wedding Ginny was going to. Ginny taught her a line dance that got easier and sloppier the closer to the end of the bottles they got. She and Ron had a good-natured tussle and there didn't seem to be any weirdness between she and Harry.

At the end of the night she went back to her dorm, and the other three headed up to the boys dormitory.

The next day she and Hermione went to the library together as proper friends. After hours of homework and correcting each-others essays, Hermione turned to Ginny unsure.

"So, are we good now?"

"Good as in friends?" Ginny chuckled lightly. Hermione nodded. "Yes, Hermione. Some people need Trolls, I just need to get you drunk. That's how I became good friends with Ethan too."

"I thought you guys were good friends after your first year at Ilvermory?"

"Erm, yeah. We may have been twelve, but it was a good night." Ginny blushed.

"Whoa!"

"Yeah, we definitely didn't have hang over potion available the next morning." They laughed and headed down to lunch.

()()()()()()()()

"Are you okay?" Draco asked her. It was the last day before the holidays, and they met up in the Room or Requirement again, as he'd promised. But he still wasn't sure why she'd requested it. He didn't have any more work he could do on the cabinet yet. He hoped she asked to meet because she was going to miss him.

"Fine, why?" She asked. She was seated on the floor across from him, as they usually sat.

"You just keep fidgeting and rubbing your neck. I could give you a little back rub if you'd like." He grinned cheekily at her.

She laughed a little under her breath. "I'm just a little sore from Quidditch practice. I could really do with a hot tub and a bottle of beer to tell you the truth." She leaned her head back against the vanity behind her.

Draco regarded her for a moment. "I may just be able to arrange that."

Ginny's head shot up to look at him properly. "How?"

He stood up and held out his hand for her. She took it and stood up. For weeks now, she hadn't told him that she and Harry had broken up. It was getting harder and harder not to blurt it out every time they saw each other alone, but tomorrow was the start of their Christmas holidays and they wouldn't see each other until the new year.

Ginny and Harry had found a way to be friends. It was less and less awkward for her, though it seemed like Harry was still very much interested in picking things up again when the time was right, for him. Meanwhile her hormones were set at an all-time high every time she saw Draco. They were exchanging more and more glances during class, brushing past each other in the corridors with a little more intent, and she had over-heard a few of the Slytherin girls in the bathroom talking about how he didn't seem the teeniest bit interested in them anymore. She didn't want to assume he was holding back with any of his former bimbos because of her, but she certainly hoped that was the case.

Now, holding on to his arm and standing so close to him she could inhale his delicious scent she wanted to let down that last wall she'd put up and throw herself at him.

"Come on" He let go of her hand and led them out of the Room. Without questioning, she followed him as they carefully went corridor to corridor trying to make sure they weren't seen. On the fifth floor he told her to duck behind a suit of armor while he whispered the password to a door and went in.

A moment later he came back out and gestured for her to come in the room.

The room was completely tiled, and she could hear running water. "What is this place?"

"Prefects bathroom." He pulled her around to stand in front of the giant tub. "Think this will count as a hot tub?"

Ginny was beaming, she managed to tear her eyes away from the many taps that were jetting out multi-colored bubbles and water to look back at him. "And the beer?" She challenged.

He grinned back at her. "Just a minute." He took her elbow and led her over to the shower. "Wait here a second so we aren't seen together." He pulled the curtain closed. "Dobby" He yelled. Ginny heard the crack of a House Elf apparition. "Are you able to pop down to my room and bring me my bottle of fire whiskey, please?"

"Yes, master Draco. Right away." She heard two cracks almost back to back.

"Thank you, Dobby"

"Of course, master Draco." Then another crack.

Draco pulled back the curtain. "I substituted the hot tub and the beer. Hope you don't mind."

Ginny laughed at him and stepped out of the shower to take the fire whiskey from him. "I think this'll do." She pulled the cap off and took a small sip. Then sauntered over to the tub that was now full. "Was that your House Elf?"

"Former House Elf. He was dismissed by my father just before I started third year, now he works here."

"And he still answers you?"

"My father mistreated him, I was always nice to him though. He was basically my only friend growing up, so now he still does little things for me if I ask."

"What'd he do to get dismissed?" She wondered.

Draco shrugged. "My father wouldn't tell me. We went out to get school supplies, I wandered off from Dobby and father. By the time I found my father again, Dobby was gone. He seems happier here though."

Ginny nodded and took another little sip from the bottle, then handed it back to him. He took a big swig of it. She looked at the water. "This is awesome. You know at Ilvermory they had an indoor pool and a hot tub?"

"Spoiled." He grinned and shook his head.

Ginny looked at him a moment, then back to the water. Now, she decided. The time was now.

She took a step forward and pulled her shirt over her head. Draco was frozen on the spot. Her back was to him now, but he traced the outline of her sides in the dim light with his eyes. It would seem that her freckles were far less apparent under her clothes. He saw her reach down and undo the button on her jeans before she slid them down her legs. His breathing became rather ragged and he licked his lips. The sight of her bending down with only her knickers on had 'little Draco' stirring. She kicked off her shoes and socks with her jeans and stepped down into the water.

She looked back at him now, only wearing her matching knickers and demi bra. "You coming in?" She smiled at him and bit her lip.

He hurried to put the bottle down at the edge of the water and pulled his clothes off as well. He was grateful when she submerged herself and was no longer facing him as he kicked off his trousers. His boxers did nothing to hide his excitement with this situation.

Since he'd told her she should be with him he'd taken to a subconscious 'self-love' position. None of the other girls seemed worth it. They all paled in comparison, thus getting partially nude with the one he'd desired for so long now, he couldn't talk 'little Draco' down. He sunk into the water and sat at the edge while she swam around a bit. "Really makes it seem worth it to be a prefect. Get to stay out past curfew, and use of this bathroom." She swam back to him.

Draco could do no more than stare at her as she came up to him. She was within about an inch of him when she reached her arm around him. There was a small sexy smile playing on her lips as she stared into his eyes. He kept reminding himself that she was taken, and he'd promised her that she would be the one to make the first move if she wanted him back. And there was no way that he would be okay with sharing her with Potter. Or anyone else for that matter.

She pulled her arm back, and with it the bottle of fire whiskey. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Mmm" She moaned as she drank a little down. "Really hits the spot." He took a swig as well and put the bottle back down. He brought his arms forward to rest on her hips, trying to keep her from accidentally bumping against the slight protuberance under the water. She was still staring deep into his eyes. "Hey Draco?"

"Yeah" he managed.

She brought her head closer to his. "Did I mention that Harry and I broke up a few weeks ago?"

He felt his heart skip a beat when he heard that. He searched her eyes to make sure he saw she was serious. The lust he saw in her deep brown eyes was was answer enough and he pulled her to him and crashed his lips over hers. His arms tightened around her as he savored every movement their lips made together. He had built this up in his head so long, and he was not disappointed. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and pulled her body flush against him. He moaned as she brushed up against his erection. And did it even louder when she brushed against it again.

Her lips were soft and deliberate, responding to his every movement. The weight of her body pressed up against his, particularly her breasts, was everything he'd been fantasizing about. He turned them around so she was pressed up against the side of the tub and she wrapped her legs around him. He cupped the back of her head and began trailing kisses down the side of her neck. Her satisfied sighs were spurring him on as he ground up against her center and he wanted so badly to remove their flimsy scraps of cloth they had left on to take her. In the back of his mind he remembered that she was a virgin and this was not the time and place to take that away from her.

"Ginny" He moaned.

"Draco." She responded breathily. He thrust harder against her at the sound of his name leaving her delicious lips in that manner. Her head had fallen back as he sucked and nipped at her collar bone. Her hands were running over every surface of his body that she could reach and it was sending him into ecstasy.

"I don't know when to stop." He panted. His one hand was still cupping the back of her neck, the other hand found its own way to fondle her covered breast.

She lightly chuckled and righted her head. He removed his from its spot buried in the side of her neck to look at her. From the chest down they were still moving slightly against each other. "Never had an 'innocent snogging session' before?" She teased.

He rested his forehead against hers and chuckled back. The want had not lessened in the slightest, on the contrary, it had gotten stronger. "Not really, no." He captured her lips again.

She moaned against him and trailed kisses along his jaw line. "Just no shagging." She said between kisses. He growled in response and ground up against her with more intent. His shaft was gliding perfectly along her center and the sensation was already sending him overboard.

"Fuck, this feels so good." He moaned and pressed her harder up against the side of the tub. His rhythmic rocking was sending him over the edge. He couldn't control it any longer. "Fuck Ginny." He groaned as he came. She whimpered as he slowed and he knew she hadn't finished.

Without even thinking it through he reached between them and under her knickers to plunge his fingers into her. She let out a startled cry as he began pumping two of his fingers into her with one hand, his palm pressing against her clit, and gripped her hip with the other. Her arms rested over his shoulders and her eyes went from wide open in surprise to tightly closed as she gave over to the wonderful sensations he was giving her.

Draco watched in fascination as she formed a little crinkle in between her eye brows and her mouth formed a small 'o' shape. She was breathing harder and harder as he got her closer and closer to her orgasm. Her chest was heaving and he felt her tighten around his two fingers. Her head rolled back and she moaned his name.

He slowed him ministrations as she came down from her high. He finally removed his hand and pulled her forward to wrap his arms around her. She tightened her arms around his neck. Never had he felt quite this satisfied after. Even with penetration.

"That was a little more than I've done before." She panted with her face buried in his neck.

"Was it too much? I may have gotten a little carried away." He panicked slightly. He didn't know the protocol with regards to a quality girl like Ginny.

"I liked it." She assured him. "That part I would think was pretty obvious." She chuckled. "I just wasn't expecting it."

"I think you still had a bit of an advantage on me with the expectations for tonight." He shifted them so they were facing each other. "Why didn't you tell me you and Potter broke up sooner?"

Ginny bit her lip and loosened her hold around his neck. "I was figuring shit out. I'd told you I wanted you while he and I were still together. I wanted to kind of, get over him before anything happened. You not knowing helped me resist the urge to jump you every time we were alone together." She blushed.

He smirked at her. "Been wanting this for a while then, eh?"

She smirked back and kissed him. "Yes." She said simply pulling back. She unwrapped her legs from around his hips and pivoted to grab the bottle of fire whiskey from the ledge again. She took a drink before he took it from her and took a swig himself.

He placed the bottle back down and cupped her cheek, tracing her bottom lip before kissing her lightly. "So, now what does this mean for us?"

She worried the lip he'd just been tracing. "It means that I want to be with you."

He grinned and kissed her again. "Perfect, because I've been wanting you to myself for a while." He trailed his hand up and down her back and put some pressure on her shoulder blade. She let out a groan at that. "Want me to rub it a bit."

"Yes." She replied eagerly.

They carried on discussing their holiday plans between rubs and kisses as the night drew on, Ginny would be headed to the Burrow and Draco was staying at the castle. Draco had never felt so completely satisfied. Not just because she'd gotten him off, but because they were so open with each other. She'd told him all her secrets, he'd told her all his. She explained exactly what happened between her and Harry and he was glad for it. She had needed that time in between to get over her feelings for him, because it hadn't ended due to a lack of feelings.

He had been resting against the wall of the tub, and she had her back against his front while he ran his hands up and down her shoulders and occasionally ran a trail of kisses along her neck. "Speaking of protection." He said. "I have a Christmas present for you."

He gently moved her forward as he turned around and got out of the bath and fished in the pocket of his trousers. She swam backwards following him with her eyes. "I have something for you too, but I'm going to owl it to you before I leave tomorrow."

He sank back down into the water and swam over to her. "It isn't wrapped. The plan was to slip it into your pocket somehow, and I didn't want to create any suspicion when you found it, if there were other people around." He pulled her forward and reached behind her neck with both hands to unclasp her necklace carefully. She pressed herself against him and ran her hands down his side. "Don't distract me, woman."

She chuckled. "I don't know what you mean." She said innocently as he closed the clasp of her necklace again and gently ran his hand down to trace the chain, his knuckles brushed her skin as he did so and she shivered at the feeling. Then looked down at his hand.

He had added pretty golden pendant with a rune on it. "It's a shield rune. Any shield charm that you use should be amplified while you have this on. And since I know you never take it off, I wanted you to be as safe as possible."

"Wow" She said. She took in the seriousness of his expression. "I love it. It's perfect."

"I also hoped it would be something good for you to wear instead of only these horrible things." He indicated to the other four pendants on her chain.

"Speaking of them." She sighed. "Draco, we need to discuss telling Snape."

"Ugh. Tonight?" She laughed at him and went to get out of the bath. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"I am all pruned, sobering up, and curfew can't be that far away."

He took a moment to appreciate the curve of her ass as she climbed out of the water. "Fine." He moped. "So, you think we need to tell sooner rather than later." He climbed out as well and flicked his wand at the both of them to cast a quick drying spell.

"Well, face the facts. As soon as that cabinet is fixed, they are going to attack the school. At that point Tom is going to expect you to have done away with Dumbledore, or complete your mission at that time at least. There is also at least one more horcrux that we don't know about so Tom can't be killed until then. There is a chance that Dumbledore knows what it is. If he knows, then odds are Snape will know too." She said pulling on her jeans.

"Why would Snape know if Dumbledore knows?" He asked her with a quizzical expression.

She froze pulling on her shirt. "You know he's playing both sides, right?"

Draco sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Hadn't really occurred to me that he and Dumbledore would be that close though."

"I've seen the two of them together. With him being a double agent, and as good at Occlumency as you've told me, I'm pretty sure he knows better than most exactly what's going on in Dumble's head."

Draco snickered at the nickname. They were both fully dressed now and neither was ready to part company. "So, after the break?"

"After the break." She agreed.

"And just to be one hundred percent clear about us. I want you to know that I've wanted this for a while, and I won't be doing anything to mess it up."

"Why Mr. Malfoy, are you saying you want to be exclusive with me?" She batted her eyelashes at him teasingly.

"Hell yes. I know you're going to a wedding in America, I'm sure you'll look stunning in whatever dress you're going to be wearing and I don't want you letting any groomsmen try to sweep you off your feet."

Ginny laughed at that. "Don't worry about it. I'll go, help with the wedding prep, take a few horse rides. Apparently I've been invited to part of the stag night, they are doing something called 'Paint Ball'. No idea what it is, but it's supposed to be a great time according to Ethan. There is a small chance that I will agree to a drunken skinny dip in their pond again."

"Have you gone skinny dipping with him before?" Draco was astounded.

"Yes." She giggled. "Never in the winter though. And it was always too dark to see anything."

"But you were looking?" He chastised.

She shrugged. "I am a curious being." She couldn't contain the big grin on her face. She stepped into his arms again. "And being exclusive with you sounds wonderful." She reached up and kissed him again.

"This had to happen on the last day before break." He mumbled against her lips.

"I had heard some complaints from girls in your house that you'd been keeping your snake to yourself. I figured if I didn't do something about your teenage hormones, you'd cave in to one of those idiots. Couldn't have that happening."

"No. I appreciate your sacrifice. Since clearly your hormones were doing just fine." He smirked.

"Clearly." She kissed him again smiling.

They hugged each other close and sunk into the feeling. After a few minutes he kissed her again and pulled away. "Right. You have to head back to your common room before I have to give you a detention for being out past curfew."

She nodded. "And the only detention you'd want me in is the one we'll role play later." She said with a saucy wink. Draco felt his face go slack at the suggestion. Ginny leaned into him slightly and brushed against his crotch with her hip before turning to the door. "Thank you again for the gift." She said before she left him standing there in the bathroom, now sporting a semi.

 **AN- It finally happened! The age of Drinny is upon us.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Smut ahead.**

"Alright. This is your weapon. Remember that. Weapon. Not toy. Your gun uses nitrogen to shoot off the rounds of dye filled gelatin capsules. It does hurt upon impact. You will have bruises if you get hit anywhere outside of your protected gear on your body, so aim for the protective gear! Do not, under any circumstances take off your eyewear. If you get shot in the eye, wipe off the die as best you can and either make your way back here for new eyewear, or carry on with smeared vision."

There were seven guys plus Ginny listening to the instructions before they were to be paired up and sent out into an obstacle course to shower the other team in sprays of paint filled plastic balls that splattered upon impact. They were all kitted out in long sleeves, pants, boots, vests, helmets and goggles with the 'brand new' Hyperball paintball guns in hand, fully loaded with 60 rounds. The guys were all excited to get out there and start shooting each other.

Ginny thought she had a good chance at winning the most hits. These guys were going to go in guns blazing, she would be more stealth about it. Her plan was to get up a tree, or on a roof somewhere and fire only when she had a clean shot. She'd fired actual guys with Ethan before, and her aim was pretty good.

She had not been prepared for the successive rounds that the guns shot off. Her team won, but she hadn't actually been a big help. Maneuverability was key for this game, her climbing a tree had made her a pretty easy target.

Oh well.

It had still been fun, and it gave her an idea for the Vanishing Cabinet situation. The Dumbledore situation too, so long as he knew about it.

Ginny's portkey had landed her in Montana on December 28th. She'd helped with cleaning and decorating he house and barn, hung-out with Ethan and they'd exchanged their stories of school so far, and she'd told him about Harry and Draco, which felt great to get off her chest. She'd also given him his Christmas present, a contraceptive charm in the form of an earring. He'd gotten his ear pierced a bit ago, because apparently that was cool for guys now. He was confused when she gave it to him, then ecstatic once he knew what it actually was.

Ethan had been offered the Quidditch Captaincy, but passed because of the workload that entailed. He was surprisingly lazy for a farm boy. His on and off relationship with Megan had remained off, and he forced Ginny to go with the bridesmaids the morning of the wedding for their nail and hair appointments to suss out his chances with Jennifer, the bride's 'hot' sister. He was elated when she reported back that his chances were good, so long as he played a charmer, not a prick, which was what had worked for Megan.

The wedding ceremony had been lovely. The bride was beautiful, the groom was nervous, and the reception was a lot of fun. Ginny danced a lot, ate a lot, and drank too much.

Thankfully she'd arranged to go back to England on January 2nd so she had a day of recovery on the couch with Ethan. His whole family needed to take it slow New Years day. Around 4pm they finally felt well enough to start clean-up from the night before.

She spent her last night there with Ethan in his room. He had managed to get his head under Jennifer's dress and spent the whole night refusing to shut up about it, while Ginny laughed and begged him to stop. They stayed up very late, not saying how much they were going to miss each other.

Ginny landed at the Burrow in the mid-afternoon gloom. The sky was grey around her home, but the house looked warm and cozy surrounded by all the snow. She picked up her bag and carried it into the kitchen through the back door.

"Ginny!" her mother greeted her. "How was the wedding?"

"Fantastic." Ginny beamed at her and took account of everyone around the table. Fred, George, Ron, Dad, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Harry

Of course, Harry was there. They'd all come over for Christmas dinner, but he'd spent the rest of his time over at the Order headquarters, and they hadn't had any time to talk then, but his looks he gave her were pulling at her heart strings a bit. She was thankful her mum hadn't put mistletoe up anywhere in the house.

"Did you drink?" Her mum asked warningly.

Ginny smirked at her. "Why do you think I came back today rather than yesterday?" Her brothers laughed. Ginny started hauling her bag through to bring it up to her room.

"Hold on." Her mum stopped her. "Tell me what else happened, besides you doing under age drinking."

"Um, went riding, played paintball, did girlie crap, danced, helped Ethan score with a bridesmaid, recovered from a hangover, helped clean up a bit. Now I'm here." Ginny shrugged.

"Helped Ethan score with a bridesmaid?" Her mother repeated skeptically. The table of men were smirking a bit. Ginny joined in. "Ginny. You know you are old enough to start dating."

"Start?" Ginny cut her off surprised, then realized she should have played along. "Start, right. Thanks mum." Ginny fought to keep a serious look on her face, but did a terrible job of it. "Glad I have your permission."

"I knew it! There was something with you and Ethan! Why don't you feel free enough to tell me about it?" She pointed an accusatory finger at her daughter.

"Ew! Mum, never going to happen." Ginny made a face at her.

"Then who?" She narrowed her eyes at her.

"Not really a conversation for this company, yeah?" Ginny nodded towards the table. Her mum went over to her pantry and pulled out a glass ball. "Oh mum!" Ginny exclaimed as her mother tossed it to her. Ginny rolled her eyes and the ball glowed white. "Satisfied?" she asked her mother and handed it back.

"Sorry dear." Her mum put it away.

"No you're not." Ginny kept going through.

"What was that?" Tonks asked.

Ginny turned and glared at her mum. "Something she's going to stop using when I'm sixteen." Ginny inadvertently locked eyes with Harry for a moment and saw he understood from his blush.

"It's nothing. Ginny, go put your things away." Her mother ushered her out.

"Trying to. Fred, George, can I borrow you for a bit?" They shrugged and went upstairs with her.

"I have a project for you guys." Ginny said once they were in her room. "And if you can make it work, I bet you could sell the idea to the DMLE"

Their eyes lit up. "We knew you weren't a one and done on your brilliant ideas!" George told her.

"What is it?" Fred asked.

She pointed to the door. "Can you?" Fred cast a silencing charm. "Okay, so can I trust you two to keep this to yourselves?"

They gave each other looks of disbelief. "Like we would ever break your confidence!"

"Yeah, we never told about you snogging Harry." George smiled.

"You can trust us." Fred told her in a deeper, conspiratorial voice.

They had twin smiles on their face. Ginny looked between the two of them surprised. There was only one time they could have seen her and Harry. "Guess Sirius wasn't the only one that caught us at Grimmauld Place then."

"Nope." They said together.

"Right, well this isn't about that." She unzipped her bag and pulled out two paintball guns and handed them to them.

"Whoa, this is one of those Muggle things they use to kill each other, isn't it?"

"No. Guns use bullets." She pulled another paintball gun out for herself and put a single capsule in the container and shot Fred in the shin.

"Ow!"

Ginny grinned at him. "Just demonstrating." She gave them each an empty capsule. "These are paintball guns. The capsules are usually filled with gelatin and paint. I am betting they could be filled with a potion that would cause who ever is shot with it to be incapacitated. I don't know which potion to use though. Whatever is used can't destroy the plastic capsules."

"So you need us." George's eye held a mischievous twinkle.

"That's right."

"We could also fill it with love potion." Fred pondered.

"You can do whatever you want with it, after you do what I asked." Ginny said taking a seat on the floor, leaning her back against the dresser.

"Why do you need it?" George asked.

Ginny didn't answer that. "Think you can do it?"

They examined the little capsule. "It'll take some trial and error, I suppose."

"You leading a double life we don't know about?" George asked.

Again, she ignored the question and handed them a container with 100 empty capsules. "And, can I borrow your wand?" She asked George, who's wand worked better for her. He handed it over slowly, observing carefully as she transfigured her two other paintball guns and capsules.

"Seriously Gin. Should we be worried?"

She looked at them both contemplatively. "You will know what's going on eventually. Can you just trust me for now?" They both hesitated, but nodded. "Great. One last thing. Can you send me some Peruvian Darkness Powder?"

()()()()()()

Harry's holiday had been a mad hunt through Grimmauld Place for the locket. Every box and corner had been searched over and over again. Kreacher had been interrogated finally and told them all the story of Regulus Black. How he was a Death Eater, but was looking for a way to bring down the Dark lord, and Kreacher was to help him, but could not save him.

Sirius took that pretty hard. He'd though the worst of his brother for so long, and didn't know what had become of him. He had actually been trying to bring Voldemort down from the inside.

Dumbledore quizzed the elf on whether the locket had been destroyed. The elf admitted he had tried and failed to destroy it. He'd left it in Regulus' room for safe keeping, he hadn't managed to move it before the cleaning had begun.

Dumbledore had been astounded at the story of the cave. It was something Harry had never seen before on the headmasters face. He'd admitted he'd been searching for that same cave for some time and hadn't thought anyone else knew of it.

And so, the search continued.

During the mindless search, Harry'd though about all the memories of Tom Riddle he'd seen so far. He tried to make sense of what the objects should contain that was so vital. And his mind drifted to Ginny.

He had hoped she would have changed her mind about them being together. He still wanted to be with her, very badly. But she'd been right. Once shit hit the fan he would cut things off with her if that's what it took to protect her. Six people knew they'd been together, and that was enough to be concerned about Voldemort finding out. What she'd said about not wanting to be in love with him when that happened, that struck a chord.

Because he realized that he was in love with her. He'd acted like a prat to her at the Hogshead, and let her walk away.

Trying to be friends with her after was torture, but they somehow managed. Asking her to the Slug Club do had been immensely stupid. He understood her anger towards him about that, especially with Ron and Hermione's eager reactions, which mortified him.

Hermione probably knew his feelings for Ginny, she was supposed to be smart, but she wasn't that day.

The night of the party had turned out to be incredibly fun though, one of his best experiences to date. It had been so much fun watching the girls attempt to dance while they giggled away and the Elven wine had tasted really good.

He had hoped he could get a moment alone with Ginny over the holidays, but Christmas was so busy. And the only other time they'd been over to the Burrow was when she'd just gotten back from her trip, and she spent the rest of her time in her room with the twins.

The glass ball thing had been a shock. Apparently, she was remaining a virgin not because she didn't want to have sex until she was sixteen, but because her mother was keeping tabs on her virtue! He hadn't even known such a thing existed and asked Sirius about it later. Sirius had asked him with mock innocence how Harry knew what it did. He felt his ears heat up at that.

He was saved any further teasing questions by Tonks and Remus, who'd discovered that Lucius Malfoy and a few others had been broken out of Azkaban.

Happy Fucking New Year.

()()()()()

Draco had spent his holiday essentially alone in the castle, but was forced to go home for the last few days of his holiday. Snape had insisted on it. Ministry officials had arrived at the school to interview him about his fathers escape from Azkaban, and he'd made sure to put up his Occlumency shields for their questioning. And pull up his sleeves. He'd put a glamour on his right forearm to hide his mark. When they were convinced he didn't know anything, he'd been sent to Malfoy Manor to 'spend time with his mother.' But really, he had to report to Voldemort, who was still using the Manor as his headquarters.

He and his father had been subjected to the Cruciatus curse. Lucius for insolence, and Draco for not completing his tasks in a timely manner. He was also sent a swift cutting curse that would have had him out of commission for quite some time if he hadn't been wearing the dragon hide vest Ginny gave him for Christmas under his robes. The dragon hide had protected his torso, but his arms had still gotten cut.

The remaining three days of the holiday he spent in his room feigning recovery. The cuts on his arms had been healed immediately by Snape, but there would be scars there forever.

Ginny had been right. They would have to tell Snape when they got back to school. He would be taking the Floo to Snape's office to get back to Hogwarts, and knew that Ginny would be taking the train back. He decided to stay in the Room of Requirement all night if he had to, hoping she could get away to see him.

()()()()()()

It was late the day before classes that Ginny found Draco sitting in their aisle in the Room with his back against the Cabinet and his eyes closed. His legs were stretched out in front of him and his arms crossed. She tried to be quiet in her approach, but saw the soft smile come to his face as she got closer and closer.

He obviously knew she was there. She sat in his lap gently and kissed him. He didn't open his eyes. He just uncrossed his arms to pull her closer and kiss her back.

"Miss me?" She whispered.

"Terribly." He smirked, still not opening his eyes and kissed her again and trailed kisses down her neck and to the top button of her blouse. She hummed and scratched her fingernails across his scalp making him groan.

"Bored with out me here?" She smiled as he sucked on her neck and held tightly onto her hips.

He growled and pulled back. "Let's discuss your holiday before mine. I have a feeling it was more pleasant." He finally opened his eyes and she saw they looked a little tortured.

"Let's move somewhere a little more comfortable then." She stood up and held out her hand and grabbed her bag.

"Where did you have in mind?" He sounded hopeful.

The bed he'd accidentally conjured almost two months ago was still blocking part of the aisle and that was where she led him. She bit her lip taking off her cloak and shoes smiling at him.

He followed suit and they laid down together. He ran his hand down her side and continued his assault on her neck. "How was your break?" He asked between kisses.

She moaned. "Fine. The wedding was fun. The stag was fun. And I brought something to show you." She managed as she relished in the sensations he was giving her.

His hand started undoing the buttons on her shirt. He pushed her back so he could lay on top of her. He kissed and licked every new patch of skin that was exposed. "You brought me a souvenir?"

She chuckled. "No, I had an idea about what to do once the cabinet was fixed."

He looked up at her, resting his chin lightly on her belly button. "You do?"

"Yes. Go the idea from the stag do of all places."

He arched an eyebrow and smirked at her. "Please, if you are going to strip for anyone as a distraction, let it be for me and in private."

"Ha ha. Very funny." She rolled away from him and grabbed her bag pulling out the paintball gun and a capsule she'd loaded with a toxic potion. She aimed it at an old dresser and fired off a round. The wood started to melt where the potion hit it and bubble a bit. She turned back to Draco, smiling.

He looked at the gun and at the spot on the dresser in wonder. "What is it?" he took it from her.

"A muggle toy, or weapon depending on how you look at it. It's called a paintball gun. You can fill the little capsules with something. Supposed to be paint, and fire it at a target." She explained. "I have asked Fred and George to look into finding a potion that could incapacitate someone on impact."

"Fred and George?" He asked startled.

"I didn't tell them why I needed it, and played the 'potential profits' card for them for incentive. They didn't ask too many questions."

"You want to take out the Death Eaters with a muggle invention?" Draco mused.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" She smiled. "They'd never see it coming. And it may be a Muggle invention, but we'd be filling the capsules with a magic potion."

"And how could this profit your brothers?"

Ginny shrugged. "They could sell the idea to the DMLE after. Do you not like the idea?"

"It's genius actually." He he said slowly, admiring the object in his hand. Then he looked up and smiled at her and kissed her on the lips again.

She took the gun back and put it in her bag. "We can work on target practice later. But now." She pushed him down on his back. "You tell me about your break." His face dropped at that. Ginny worried at his expression. "Is it your dad?"

Draco nodded. Ginny nestled herself on top of him, her head at his chest resting on her hands, and her lower half between his legs. "I was interrogated by the Ministry about it, then sent home. My father was there. So was He. He isn't happy with either of us. Wanted me to have done away with Dumbledore by now. And the cabinet is taking longer than expected. He… used the Cruciatus curse on me, and the cutting curse." Ginny sucked in a breath. "Thank you, buy the way." He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "If I hadn't been wearing the vest you gave me it would have been much worse."

Ginny sat up and stared into his eyes while she undid the buttons on his shirt. He sat up and she pulled it down his arms. She traced the lines of the healed cuts along his shoulder and over the forearm on his other side.

"I'm really glad you were wearing that."

Draco followed her fingers with his eyes, and his spine tingled at her light touch. "As am I. Snape healed me up very quickly." He looked at her necklace and picked up the rune. "I am really glad you're wearing this."

"I never take it off. But, what about your father?"

"I didn't even have a chance to talk to him. The Cruciatus curse knocked him out and I spent the next three days hiding out in my room like a coward." He scowled.

"Hey! You aren't a coward! Look at what we're doing here. A coward wouldn't dare do this." Draco's only response was to clench his jaw. She smirked and kissed him on each underside of his ears. "Sneaking around with a girl from a blood traitor family is pretty un-cowardly."

He smirked. "Working so hard to get in your knickers was pretty pathetic though."

"Um. Do you want me to leave? Because it sounds like you're saying it wasn't worth it."

He quickly rolled them over to pin her to the mattress. "Oh, you are definitely worth it." He grabbed under her knee and ground against her as he kissed her soundly. She moaned and arched her back, he nipped at her bottom lip and tried to massage her tongue with his, but instead she sucked suggestively on his.

"Holy Fuck!" He pulled back.

She grinned up at him. "Liked that, did you?" she giggled.

"If you don't want me to lose control and rip the rest of your clothes off, I suggest you not do that again."

She beamed and shifted underneath him suggestively. "I'll keep that in mind." She pulled him back down on top of her and his hands resumed finding their way under her bra. He undid the clasp and pushed the bra up and moved himself down her body to lick and nip her soft mounds.

"Mmm, Draco, we still have to talk about a few things." She said quietly.

"Not yet. I want to see how loudly I can get you to say my name first." He undid the top button of her trousers. Ginny didn't object as he slid her trousers down over her bum and down her legs.

"Draco… I." Ginny started.

"No shagging. I promise." He kissed up the inside of her thigh. She worried her lip. His eyes were full of lust. "Ginny?" She was obviously concerned about how fast this was moving, but he made her feel so good. "Look. I've never actually done this before." He told her. She looked confused. "I've had sex, but only shagging. It wasn't intimate, or slow, and honestly you were the first one I've ever made cum." Ginny's eyes went wide at that confession, and choice of words. "And I'm desperate to do that to you again."

He saw her eyes glaze over. "I've spent months thinking about how I would pleasure you if I got the chance. Please let me." She stared at him and swallowed deeply. He gave her such amazing feelings, and she had thought about their last meeting in the Prefects bathroom all holiday. He smiled as she nodded and continued kissing his way up her thighs to the center of her panties. She flinched a bit at the sensation. He went slow, kissing her through the cotton fabric until she relaxed enough and started moving against him.

He reached up and tucked his fingers in the waist band to pull them down. He couldn't help smirking a bit. The carpet matched the drapes. But it also appeared she'd groomed a bit. He hoped that it was with him in mind.

He pulled the panties off all the way and kissed along the crease where her leg and her pelvis met. He glanced up and saw her head was tilted back with her eyes closed and her hands fisted, gripping onto the pillows.

Draco pulled back slightly to look at her center properly and traced his finger along her slit enjoying how she squirmed. His finger circled around her entrance and up over her clit. She moaned and arched her back every time he did that. She was wet. He loved that he could make her that way. Finally, he dipped his head to taste her. She bucked against his face as his tongue delved into her. She tasted tart, not sweet or salty. Not bad at all either. It would probably become his favorite flavor.

He thrust his tongue in and out of her a few times and moved up to suckle her clit, trying not to smile at the loud moan she gave. His arm came up underneath her bum to gain better access to her. Instinct told him to circle her clit with the underside of his tongue.

"Ah! Yes!" She thrust her hips against him in time with his ministrations and with his free hand he pumped two fingers into her at the same pace.

Draco was quickly losing control himself and couldn't stop humping into the mattress. He'd never known giving someone else pleasure like this would get him so hot and bothered. It took a while, and his jaw was protesting, but he couldn't stop. Her reactions to specific movements he made was driving him on. She was intoxicating.

Her thighs clamped around his head and she arched up off the mattress letting out an almighty moan and groaned his name. That sent him over the edge as well and he actually came in his pants.

He stayed where he was as her thighs relaxed. He pulled out his fingers and lapped up her juices, making her moan even more. "Oh fuck! Draco stop!" She squirmed after a bit.

He pulled back and wiped his face on the sheets. He looked up at her. She was flush from her face down her neck to the middle of her chest, and breathing hard with the most relaxed expression on her face. Ginny cracked her eyes open and giggled at him.

"You look a mix between proud and a little boy on Christmas morning."

He grinned and laid down beside her. "That's pretty much exactly what I'm feeling." He kissed her shoulder.

She glanced down to his trousers and a crinkle formed between her eyebrows. "You're not even…"

"Ah. Right. I actually… I'm done." He was mildly embarrassed that he'd gone off.

She looked up into his face with wide eyes. "So, you actually enjoyed doing that!"

"Way more than I'd expected to. And I had expected to." He assured her.

He leaned over and kissed her, cupping her bare ass to bring her closer to him. Draco had thought that her 'no shagging' rule would be more difficult, but discovering her body so far had been so exciting for him. And she was obviously enjoying it too.

()()()()()()

Ancient Runes class had been hard for Ginny to focus in. They'd been given three different Runes to define and associate. Problem was that you had to 'find' the runes in what appeared to be a blank slate. At the end of the class Hermione was super happy with her progress, Ginny had a head ache.

"I have to go to the loo before DADA." Hermione told her.

"Yeah, I should go too." Ginny tightened her bag over her shoulder and followed Hermione into the toilets.

Ginny sat on the loo and put her head in her hands. "Mione? Do you have something for a headache? I think my brains scrambled."

Hermione laughed lightly. Before she could answer the door to the toilets banged open. "Are you fucking Draco?"

Ginny froze. How could anyone possibly know?

"No! I already told you that." Replied another voice.

"Well, someone must be. He keeps dodging my attempts. So if he isn't shagging you, then it must be someone else."

"Yea, but who? He hadn't let me near him since last year."

"And it's been months since he let me at him. What about your sister? Astoria? He had a betrothal contract with her."

Ginny's mouth dropped open. He never told her that.

"No, he voided it a while back. Astoria hates him for that."

Ginny could tell one of the girls was Pansy Parkinson, Draco told her the bint was fairly obsessed with him. The other one must have been Daphne Greengrass. She heard Hermione flush the toilet and unlatch her loo door. Ginny wanted to smack her forehead. Why couldn't the girl have just stayed hidden? She wanted to hear more.

"Ugh, Granger."

"Ugh, Parkinson."

"Glad to see you wash your hands, but just know that no amount of soap with wash off the fact that you're a Mudblood."

Ginny finished up in the loo and stepped out.

"And yet I have a pureblood boyfriend, and you don't."

Ginny shook her head, 'Lame 'Mione.' She thought. Hermione was really bad at this.

"Yuck. A Weasley? As if they can even be counted." Pansy sneered at her. Daphne took a half step back, she didn't look like she wanted to be a part of this altercation. "No one in their right mind would want a Weasley." Pansy turned to Ginny. "Ugly and stupid. The lot of them."

Ginny smiled at her. "Wow! Stupid is six letters! Congratulations Pansy. Tell me. Did you find a Dictionary over the holidays?" Pansy was taken aback. Ginny took advantage of her silence. This girl was after her boyfriend, she wanted to take her down a peg. "You know, that big book with all the letters in the English language all organized alphabetically." She put a mock shocked face on, as though she felt sorry for offending her. "I mean, words sorted from A to Z." She said slowly, so Pansy could understand.

Pansy went red with rage. "You utter cow!" She yelled.

"Tisk, tisk. You've gone the other way now. Maybe you should find a Thesaurus next. Hint! It's not a dinosaur."

Even Daphne couldn't stop joining Hermione in sniggering at that one. Pansy stomped her foot and glared at Daphne, who instantly sobered, before turning back on Ginny. "You are just jealous of me."

"Jealous? You were just in her complaining you couldn't get a boy to shag you in a broom closet. What happened? He tried you once and realized you weren't worth it?"

She didn't normally start a verbal fight with anyone, but this bitch had been a thorn in her side for a while. And besides the fact she kind of hated her for having sex, albeit bad sex, with Draco, and she never passed up an opportunity to try and hurt Hermione who was now her friend.

"Can't you just move on to your next victim? Or have all the boys in your house already taken a turn?" Telling a girl off for her sexual choices was not something Ginny approved of. As far as she was concerned, if boys weren't given a hard time for the number of conquests, then girls shouldn't be either. Her body, her choice.

"Better than fucking a Weasley!"

"Oh. Low blow." Ginny said insincerely. Then she turned to Hermione. "Cards on the table Hermione. Ron ever satisfied you?" Hermione looked startled at the question, but her blush was widespread enough to be a 'yes', so was the small smile. "Good boy Ron." Ginny nodded, then turned back to Pansy. "Any of the times your legs fell open for whatever walked by resulted in half that expression?" Ginny asked and pointed her thumb behind her. Pansy screamed in frustration. "Or did they all end like that?" she snickered.

"Everyone thinks you're so nice, and funny and pretty. But they don't really know you, do they? You're a selfish, evil prude who will never amount to anything."

Ginny smirked wider and stepped closer to her, lowering her voice.

"And everyone knows that you're…"

()()()()()()()()

Draco and Ginny had their plan to talk to Professor Snape with out arousing suspicion, to even the professor. It was simple really. Ginny needed to get a detention. Draco would show up during that detention.

So, Draco was slightly anxious about not seeing her in DADA class when they'd planned. She was supposed to start an altercation with him that would escalate at the beginning of class when Snape got there. Snape was late again as well. Everyone was seated and pretending to revise when Ginny and Hermione entered.

Hermione Granger being late was a shock. Something big must have happened, and the side of Ginny's face was bright red, it looked like a hand print.

Draco's blood boiled at the sight of it. He gripped the side of his seat with one hand to stop from going over to her and demanding she tell him who hit her. She locked eyes with him for only a moment, she was amused. He was confused.

She'd been struck, and she was amused about it? It took all of his will power not to turn his head and follow her with his eyes to her seat. Still beside Potter. He sneered every time he saw them together. There was nothing to do about the seating arrangements this far into term though.

"What happened?" Potter asked loudly.

Ginny and Granger laughed in response. "Pansy Parkinson slapped me." Ginny chuckled.

"What?! Why?" Ron asked.

Draco turned around to look at her then. She looked at him too. "Must have been something I said." She smirked.

"What did you say?" Potter asked eagerly.

"She was defending me." Granger smiled. "Parkinson was being her usual awful self, and Ginny jumped in and. And. Called her." Granger was laughing so hard she could barely talk. "Oh! It's too crude." The girl was beet red.

Then the professor walked in.

"I called her a cock juggling thunder cunt." Ginny said loudly.

Draco knew she'd been aware of the professor's presence, and said it anyways. "Miss Weasley! Detention, and twenty points from Gryffindor for your inappropriate language."

Ginny saluted the professor and Draco just barely heard her whisper. "Worth it" to her companions.

He fought to keep the smile off of his face.

 **AN** \- **I know it seems like I just glazed over the highlights of the holiday... Because I did. And yes, Harry is still hung up on Ginny. No complaining about it.**

 **On another note, the Chastity Ball thing made me write up a one-shot called...**

 **Chastity Ball. It's just a 9000 word smut really. But it just fell out of my head and into a Word document. The story line for that one didn't work with any of the other three stories I'm working on, but haven't yet published.**

 **Cock Juggling Thunder Cunt is one of my favorite insults. It's always fun when it's more than one word :).**

 **And I'm getting hesitant about even wanting to read my reviews lately. They are all telling me which way the story should go, or people telling me off for what's happened so far. So how about, if you like it, you Follow or Favorite it. Unmotivational reviews are not helping move the story along. I don't care that I've already written chapter 23.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Chapter 18**

Ginny felt a tingly sensation creep down her head to her toes as she was walking back to the library from the kitchens. She'd been working on her assignments in the Gryffindor common room all afternoon when Harry and Ron came in and mentioned she'd missed dinner. No wonder it had been so quiet in the common room up until then.

She looked down at her hand and couldn't see it. She'd been disillusioned.

A tapestry pulled back on her left and the door behind it opened slightly. Ginny smiled to herself and went through the door. It led to a disused study of sorts.

"Muffliato." She heard Draco's voice say before he removed the disillusionment charm from her.

"Well, aren't you talented." She mused. He removed the charm from himself as well. "We could use that spell when the time comes."

He came close to her and wrapped an arm behind her waist and tilted her chin up so he could check the mark that Pansy had left. "Does it hurt?"

"No. Stung quite a bit when it happened, but I've been hit harder by better people." She smirked. "It just feels warm now."

His brow furrowed while he looked it over. She reached up and ran her thumb slowly up the bridge of his nose and along the middle of his forehead. "I'm fine Draco. And it was completely worth it. I really don't like her."

"Me neither." He kissed her cheek.

"You did at one point." She pursed her lips.

He groaned. "Only once, and it wasn't worth it."

"She thinks it was. She was accusing Daphne Greengrass of sleeping with you."

"Daphne?" He was surprised. "That was almost a year ago."

"Super." Ginny deadpanned. "How was she?"

His eyes darkened a bit. "Ginny." He said warningly. "You know I have a history."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes, and I could guess at who that history was with. I just wasn't prepared to have it confirmed. By the way. You had a betrothal contract? That's so dated." She shook her head.

"Did. The Greengrass' weren't okay with it when He came back, and I certainly didn't want it, so once my father was in Azkaban, I had it made void." He traced his knuckles down her jaw and neck. "You aren't mad at me, are you?"

She smiled softly. "No. Well. I know I have no right to be anyways." She moved back to sit on the desk, he smiled a little sinisterly and placed his hands on her knees to move them apart and step between her legs. She was wearing a skirt today. "How long were you waiting in the corridor?" She asked as his head dipped down.

"I wasn't. I saw you leave the kitchens and followed you." He nipped at her neck. "When's your detention with Snape?"

"Friday night at eight." She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Damn. Guess I'll have to rush Quidditch practice."

"The sun will be down by the time my detention starts anyways."

"Anyone waiting for you in the library?" He asked quietly.

"No, but I shouldn't be gone more than twenty minutes. Pretty sure Hermione is there. I was seen leaving the tower."

Draco grumbled. "Never enough."

Ginny grinned. "No, it's not." She pulled his face up to hers and they lost themselves in each other's kisses.

Their snogging grew steadily more heated after a few minutes, he was rocking up against her, trailing his hands up and down her legs. He broke away from her lips and started kissing down her jaw to her neck. Ginny reached between them and went to Draco's button on his trousers. She dipped her hand inside and stroked him. He groaned appreciatively, she stroked him a few times and he pulled back from her neck, panting with his eyes closed.

She grinned at his expression. It made her feel powerful to get this kind of reaction from him. After what he'd done for her on Sunday, she had thought about what it would be like to return the favor. She kissed him again and coaxed him to get him to move his tongue into her mouth. Like last time, she sucked on it suggestively.

"Fuck Ginny!" He thrust into her hand roughly when she did it.

She slid down off the desk and turned them around so he was against it. She removed her hand and slid his trousers and pants down and got on her knees. She looked up at him. His eyes were wide and full of lust looking down at her. She wrapped her fist around his shaft and started moving it back and forth. His eyes closed and she finally looked down at what she was doing.

It was the first time she was seeing an erect penis. She'd seen the outline of many in trousers, felt a few pressed up against her, but never like this. It was exactly what she'd expected it to look like. Flesh colored, slightly darker on the head of it and veins visible along the shaft. She'd wondered if it would taste like how his neck tasted, salty and soft.

She leaned forward and slowly took him into her mouth while she continued stroking him. "Yes." He hissed as her tongue slid over his head and massaged the underside as she bobbed in rhythm with her hand. He thrust in small movements into her mouth. He was gripping the sides of the desk and she steadied herself with one hand on his hip.

"Uh! Yeah! Oh, I'm not going to last." He moaned. It was maybe two minutes before he groaned and spilled into her mouth.

Ginny wasn't quite sure what to do. She knew most guys loved it when girls swallowed, but weren't offended if it was spat out either. It was her first time though, so may as well see things through. She swallowed, and hoped Draco wasn't looking at the face she made when she did so.

She was pleasantly surprised to discover it tasted like… nothing. She looked back up at Draco. His eyes were closed and he was panting. He looked as though a feather could have knocked him over. She smiled to herself and pulled his pants and trousers back up his legs.

He rocked forward a bit so she could pull them up all the way and do up the zip and button. His eyes were closed all the while. She grabbed her wand and freshened her mouth, there was an after taste.

"So, I have to go." She smirked at him. He cracked his eyes open and gazed at her, unseeing. He nodded and lay down on the desk.

She laughed lightly. Apparently, that was a hell of an orgasm for him. She grabbed her bag and opened the door, taking one last look at his nearly catatonic state.

()()()()()()()()()

Harry entered Dumbledore's office at 7:30 on Friday night.

"Ah, Harry, good. Right on time. I had a thought, if you would humor me." Harry moved to stand beside Dumbledore at the Pensive. "We have ripped Grimmauld Place apart in search for the locket, but I did not think to see your memory of it." Dumbledore explained as he raised his wand, not directing it at Harry, but gesturing that he intended to. "May I?"

Harry nodded and called the memory to mind as Dumbledore pulled the tread of thought out and dropped it into the Pensive. They both dove in.

The stood in Regulus Black's room a year and half previous with a younger Ginny Weasley with her arms around a younger Harry.

"Harry. This is called a hug." Present Harry smiled seeing this part of the memory. "What you're supposed to do now is hug me back and relax." Present Harry was confused when the scene slowed down dramatically.

He turned to Dumbledore. "What happened?"

"Nothing Harry. This is how you remembered this event occurring." Present Harry blushed at that.

"Now then, do you have more Order stuff to do, or can you grab a box and help me with all this crap?" Ginny asked.

"Order stuff. Hopefully I can get some answers and find out what is going to happen with the ministry and the Dementors."

"What?" Ginny asked. Present Harry blushed as he saw his past self check her out.

"They didn't tell you?" Past Harry asked.

"There!" Present Harry said as Ginny picked up the locket and put it on. "They tell me nothing. I am just and innocent little girl." The scene slowed down again as Ginny played with the necklace and past Harry stared at her chest.

"Ah, to be young and still have all those crazy hormones." Dumbledore chuckled.

They came out of the Pensive. Dumbledore pulled that memory from his own mind and placed it in a glass container.

"That, er. That won't show the way mine did, will it?"

"Sorry Harry. That was the only way I saw the memory." He gave Harry an apologetic smile. "Now tell me. Did you ever notice Miss Weasley take off the locket?"

Harry's brow furrowed. "No. But, she wouldn't steal it!"

"We have searched everywhere else. I believe it is time to ask Miss Weasley."

Harry got uncomfortable at that. She would surely want to know why they were asking about it. He didn't have much of a choice though. "She's in detention with Snape right now." Harry told him.

"Professor Snape." He corrected. "Then let us go on a little walk, shall we?" Dumbledore led them out.

()()()()()()()()()

Ginny had been set to work immediately when she arrived in the DADA classroom. Polishing the desks. Sanding and then varnishing.

Snape sat at his desk grading while she worked.

Draco was to arrive at about 8:05. She heard the door open and looked up eagerly, only for her face to fall when she saw Harry and Dumbledore there instead of Draco.

"Headmaster." Snape greeted him.

"Professor Snape. Sorry to disturb you. We are here for Ginevra." Dumbledore smiled softly at her. She felt ice pour through her veins. "Nothing to worry about my dear. Just a few simple questions."

Ginny looked over to Harry, who she caught looking down at her chest. Her top buttons were undone, but she was still modestly covered. "Questions?" She asked.

"Yes. Do you remember cleaning Grimmauld Place a few summers back?"

Ginny's hand felt numb. "Yes." She managed.

"Do you remember a locket?"

Snape's attention shot to her as well.

'Oh fuck.' Was all Ginny could think. She was frozen to her spot, barely breathing and staring into Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"You know where it is, don't you!" Snape demanded.

She knew not to look at him. Draco told her about his skills at Legimancy. He wouldn't hesitate to use those skills on her for something this important.

Draco came in at that moment. His eyebrows shot up at the sight of Dumbledore and Harry there too. Ginny stood there with her sleeves rolled up and sand paper in one hand, not knowing how to proceed.

"Mr. Malfoy. This is not the time, come back tomorrow."

Ginny could see it in Draco's eyes that he wasn't sure what to do. "You want to know about the locket." Ginny repeated for Draco's benefit. His eyes closed in understanding and resignation.

"Mr. Malfoy. Leave." Snape repeated.

"No." Ginny said firmly. "You want to know about the locket, then I'll tell you." She walked over between Draco at the door and the other three. "But not here. And he." She gestured to Draco. "Needs to be there."

"What?!" Snape and Harry asked at the same time.

"Miss Weasley." Dumbledore asked carefully. "Why do you wish Mr. Malfoy to accompany us?"

Ginny took a deep breath and wished she could reach out for Draco's hand, surely, he was as shaky as she was about this. But they could get through it together. She swallowed and turned to Draco, willing him to nod or something. His eyes were hardened looking at the Headmaster, then he looked to her and she saw him relax a bit. That was all she needed. She turned back to the Headmaster and said the only word she needed to say. "Horcrux."

Dumbledore's eyes went wide. "My office. Now."

Ginny snagged her wand back from Snape's desk before heading out with the rest of them.

Harry fell into stride with her while they walked down the corridor. Ginny ignored his attempts at making eye contact. He'd been looking for Horcrux's with Dumbledore. That was what he couldn't tell her. She almost wanted to laugh, if only it weren't such a huge cosmic joke.

Once in the headmaster's office, Dumbledore sat behind his Brobdingnagian desk and gestured for the four of them to sit opposite him. Ginny observed a ring on his desk, near the center of his desk. It was withered and kind of melted. She looked to his hand. If they were looking for Horcrux's, then it looked like the Headmaster had managed to find one. And he'd been an idiot about it.

"You put it on, didn't you." She stated, rather than asked.

Dumbledore's eyes widened again. "You seem to know a great bit about this Miss Weasley." She was seated with Draco and Harry on either side of her, and Snape on the other side of Draco. "The Locket?"

She licked her lips and hesitated a moment before reaching up to remove her necklace. She pulled off all of her pendants and leaned forward to lay the locket pendant on his desk. With a wave of her wand, it was back to it's original state, open and blackened with the inscriptions on the cover only just legible.

Dumbledore picked it up in wonder. Snape and Harry stared at her.

"The House Elf we questioned said he tried many ways to destroy this. How ever did you manage?"

"You had to speak Parselmouth to get it to open. Then I used Basilisk venom." She said in one breath.

Dumbledore was so startled at her abrupt answer that he dropped the locket.

"And." Snape asked her slowly. "What does Draco know of this?"

"Everything." Draco replied. He leaned forward slightly to look over at Harry. "We don't have any secrets from each other." He smirked.

Ginny didn't have to look over at Harry to know what his expression would be to that. She closed her eyes and shook her head in exasperation before glaring at Draco. "Really? Now? Does now seem like the time?"

He shrugged. "Thought we'd decided to tell Snape _everything?_ I didn't ask for him to be here." He jutted his chin in Harry's direction.

"You were planning on telling me everything? Tonight?" Snape couldn't stop himself from asking.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "No, it's completely something I'd do to call Pansy Parkinson a cunt loudly in the middle of class." Ginny said sarcastically. "I got detention on purpose with you."

"Did you get slapped on purpose too?" Harry asked her.

"No." She smiled. "I just hate her, and she was running her mouth."

"We are getting off topic. Miss Weasley, you are a Parselmouth?" Dumbledore asked.

"No. I just repeated some of what I heard Tom do."

"Tom?"

"Tom Riddle." Ginny smirked.

All but Draco were staring at her with rapt attention. "Start at the beginning." Dumbledore said.

Ginny looked over to Draco. She saw he was starting to enjoy this too. These men were supposed to be so great, and the two of them were about to well surpass any one-upmanship. Ginny placed her book pendant on the table, carefully as to hide her other pendants. She waved her wand.

"This, is Tom Riddles diary from when he was sixteen. Through writing in it he shared visions and memories of his past. I spent months lying to him with what I wrote back. I did this until I found out who Tom Riddle was." She said this all clearly. "Once I found out he attended this school forty years ago through his 'Special Services to the School' award, so forget the fact that he would have been a sixty year-old writing to an eleven year-old, which is creepy in itself, I then realized that his name could be rearranged to spell out 'I am lord Voldemort'."

"Eleven?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes. Eleven. And he was obsessed with you." She told Harry. "But once I figured out who he actually was I stashed it away."

"And, how did you discover what exactly it was?" Snape asked.

"Secrets of the Darkest Arts. Picked it up in Cairo. Took me a few months to figure out Basilisk venom would do the trick."

"You went to Ilvermory with it?" Dumbledore asked.

"I went to Ilvermory because of it." Ginny corrected. "I had discovered that the person who gave it to me wanted it back. And at the time I didn't know that he too wanted to destroy it also."

"Who?" Dumbledore asked and glanced at Draco.

"My father." Draco replied.

Ginny and Draco sat quietly for a moment to let that sink in. Lucius Malfoy was supposed to be one of the top Death Eaters. It would be a hard pill to swallow for these three.

"So, the diary was given to you. And you just stumbled upon the locket?" Snape asked.

Ginny shrugged. "Pretty much the long and short of it."

"Why is it that he knows?" Harry asked through gritted teeth and indicated to Draco.

Ginny and Draco exchanged a weary look. "Draco was sort of tasked with trying to get the diary back from me." Ginny started.

Draco picked up the story. "Once my third year started my father wanted me to retrieve it from her. Apparently, something was supposed to have happened during my second year because of it. When whatever it was didn't happen, he wanted it back to destroy it."

"But, with me being at Ilvermory obviously that didn't happen. So instead Draco found out where I was and Lucius came to look for me at my new school under the guise of a Board of Directors trip or some such nonsense. I dodged him though. His first visit anyways." Ginny said. "By the time my first year at Ilvermory was over I had already destroyed it and turned it into that pendant."

"The next time we saw her was at the Quidditch World Cup. When she smirked at us." Draco said to her cheekily.

Ginny grinned at him proudly. "You two were so easy to rattle."

Harry looked between the two of them in disbelief. Their attitude towards each other was a shock to all of them, but more so to him.

"Miss Weasley." Dumbledore asked. "Why did you not tell anyone?"

She raised her eyebrows at him. "At that point I didn't realize he had made more than one. I thought it might be over. What difference did it make if I told you?" She shrugged. "But then I found the next one."

"The locket." Harry said and looked over at the open and damaged locket.

"Yep, boy was that a surprise." Ginny nodded.

"So, you have destroyed two horcruxes." Snape said in wonder.

"Um…" Ginny started. "Well… actually." She bit her lip smiling slightly. "Remember how I said that Lucius missed me on his first visit to Ilvermory?" They nodded. "Well, he didn't miss me on his second."

"Did he try to get the diary back from you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yeah." She drew out the word. "He kind of ambushed me when I arrived for my fourth year. He asked to get it back. I told him I destroyed it. And then he asked me how I did it. It was pretty obvious that he _needed_ to know."

"He knew of another one?" Snape asked. Ginny nodded.

"So, did you tell him about the Basilisk Venom? Did he tell you which one it was?" Harry asked.

Draco leaned over and took the cup pendant from Ginny's hand, careful not to reveal the tiara pendant, or the rune he'd given her, to the others. He placed it on Dumbledore's desk and Ginny waved her wand again. "They discovered this in Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lestrage's vault at Gringotts." Draco told them.

"Hufflepuff's Cup!" Dumbledore nearly shouted. He looked astounded between Draco and Ginny. His eye's landed on Draco. "You said 'they', but Miss Weasley was already at Ilvermory when she was approached by your father."

Ginny shuddered slightly. "Yeah, you do not want to take two international portkey's back to back like that, and then go on one of those cart rides." She turned to Draco. "I swore if I threw up, I'd aim my sick at him." Draco chuckled.

"Lucius Malfoy abducted you?" Harry was incredulous about it.

"I didn't give him a choice, did I? I wasn't willing to tell him how to destroy it, and I wasn't going to leave it up to a Death Eater to get the job done correctly." She turned to Draco and Snape. "No offence."

They shook their heads in a gesture to shrug off any offence they could have.

"I knew you were a Death Eater." Harry accused Draco, pointing his finger at him.

Ginny put her hand on top of Harry's. "And what choice do you think he had? I've already had this discussion with you Harry. You just didn't know I was talking facts."

Harry searched her face to see she was right. He wouldn't have had any other option, besides death. He lowered his hand and huffed.

Dumbledore looked up from the Cup he had been examining. "This and the locket will have been very important artifacts." He shook his head. "To deface such important pieces of history."

"Didn't have much time to find away around it, did she?" Draco defended.

"No, I assure you. That was not what I was getting at. Miss Weasley, obviously you have done us a great service. I am amazed that you managed this, and to keep it quiet, for so long." Dumbledore told her. He then paused and turned to Draco. "What do you mean, find a way around it?"

Draco was taken aback. "Try to transfer the horcrux out of it."

Dumbledore stared at him for a moment, clearly he was looking through him and not right at him as he processed that thought.

"Miss Weasley, if I may." Snape started. "How did you know that the Locket was a horcrux."

She shrugged. "I felt it."

Dumbledore snapped back to attention at that. "You 'felt' it?"

Ginny nodded and set down another pendant. "That is how I knew that this was one also." She waved her wand and the tiara appeared.

"Ravenclaws Diadem!" Dumbledore shouted and stood up. Ginny and Draco couldn't help but snicker at each other. This was fun, astounding the 'greatest wizard of all time'. "Where on earth did you find this?"

"The room of requirement." Ginny said plainly.

Harry's head snapped over to look at her. He then looked over to Draco. "That's where you disappear to all the time, isn't it?" He demanded. "That's why I can't see you on the map." His expression changed abruptly, like he'd given something away that he shouldn't have.

"Map?" Draco asked. "What map?"

Now everyone was looking at Harry. He hesitated. "I have a map of the school that tells me where people are in the castle. The Room of Requirement doesn't show who's in it." He said reluctantly.

Ginny and Draco looked at each other startled. They'd been sneaking around for months, and recently they'd been getting up to no good in abandoned rooms and the prefect's bathroom, and Harry could have seen them together on a piece of paper? Clearly, he hadn't caught them then, otherwise he certainly would have asked her about being alone with him. That would have been very bad.

"So, you two have been searching the Room of Requirement for this item?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Erm. No…" Ginny started.

"Ginny, just sort of stumbled upon it when I brought her there last September." Draco told them.

"You two have been meeting up with each other the whole year?" Snape asked. "Is she helping you with…" Snape stopped himself.

"Sneaking Death Eaters into the school for when the time come's to off Dumbledore here?" Ginny asked. "I've been more emotional support and planning." She nodded with shrugged.

Draco clucked his tongue at her. "Ginny!"

She raised her shoulders at him. "What? We've told them my part, now's your story."

"You knew he was going to let Death Eaters into the school so they could kill Dumbledore?" Harry looked at her like she was someone he didn't know.

"Relax Harry. We were trying to find a way to let them in and then ambush and capture them. I suggested we tell Albus here about the target on his head." She told Harry, then turned to Dumbledore. "I kind of thought you'd just play along. Make a public farce of the whole thing. Like 'Uh, I've been shot. A plague on both your houses.' You know, really Shakespeare it up. Then go into hiding or something."

Dumbledore smiled at her. "You have a very interesting sense of humor."

Snape rolled his eyes at her. "We did actually know about what you'd been tasked with in that regard." He told Draco. "You could have come to me sooner about this."

"Well, we're here now." Draco said sarcastically.

"I must draw our attention back to what you said about transferring Horcrux's." Dumbledore told Draco.

"It's more of a theory." Ginny said. "Because with the five on your desk right now, the other one should be the Maledictus Nagani."

"Maledictus?" Snape asked astounded. "Nagani is not simply a snake?"

"No. Tom heard about her when he was at school. She was some escaped carnival attraction or something. Now she's trapped as a snake. It seemed cruel to kill her for something that was not her fault."

"And. You said that you felt something from these Horcrux's Miss Weasley."

"Yeah, every time I got my hands on one the feeling was more pronounced. It made me feel... rage and snarly." She said.

Dumbledore looked between her and Harry. "I wonder if you would confirm something for me." Ginny's brow furrowed at his concerned tone. She looked over to Harry to see if he knew what he was eluding to. "Would you mind holding Harry's hand?"

She froze. She replayed what he just requested through her mind again and horror seeped through her. It couldn't be true. She shivered at the memories of their time together. All the times she'd been desperate for a reason to detach herself from him after they'd been snogging. How disgusted she'd felt after waking up in his dorm room. None of it had made any sense when she'd cared about him so much. She had wanted to kiss him, wanted him to touch her, it was only after they'd had prolonged contact that she couldn't take it. "But it. It felt so different." She said in a quiet shaky voice.

Harry had slumped in his chair. It was apparent he hadn't known that Dumbledore suspected he'd been left some remnant of Voldemort, the old man just hadn't told him.

"What had felt so different?" Dumbledore pried.

Ginny looked up into Dumbledore's eyes. "The other ones. They had made me so angry. He didn't make me angry. It was different." She said like it explained everything. She turned to look into Harry's green eyes and remembered. "It went away immediately after we stopped though. Like the others." Ginny whispered. She felt tears building up behind her eyes as she looked at him.

"What did it feel like Ginny?" Harry asked her angrily. "After we stopped what? After we broke-up? Is that why you broke-up with me?"

"I believe that Harry himself may have influenced the effect that the Horcrux would have on you Miss Weasley." Dumbledore told her gently. "What did it feel like?"

Ginny couldn't look at Harry when she told him, she knew she'd burst into tears if she had to see the kind of pain she was feeling reflected in his eyes too. She curled over and put her hands on her forehead. "It was only after we'd been… it took anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour to feel it." She explained through rough breaths. "It was this overwhelming need to get away from him. Like it was just… wrong that we were touching."

"And after you stopped touching him it went away immediately?" Dumbledore asked. He did need her to elaborate on why they would have been touching for so long. He'd seen Harry's memories, and knew that Harry had romantic feelings for her. He hadn't been aware that the two of them had pursued a relationship of that kind however.

"Yes." Ginny said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked her angrily.

She sat up and stared at him incredulously. "How am I supposed to tell you that?" She asked angrily, then put on a false chipper tone. "Hey Harry. Apart from having all these secrets from one another, and you not wanting to tell anyone that we're a couple because I'm incapable of defending myself, I also can't manage to touch you for longer than ten minutes without wanting to gag. But, hey, at least I can still care about you from afar. Does that sound like something anyone would want to hear?" She frowned at him.

"How long were you two?" Dumbledore started.

"Doesn't matter." Ginny said.

"Over two months." Harry said at the same time as he sat slouched in the chair staring down at the floor.

Ginny looked over at him angrily for answering, then chanced a look over at Draco. This can't have been easy for him to hear. He was staring at the items on the desk with dead eyes and a placid face. His mask was up. The one he'd had before she started tearing down his walls to get him to display his actual emotions around her. That meant he was truly torn up about it. She sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Two months you were with Harry before deciding to end it, all the while your entire body was telling you to get away from him?" Dumbledore smiled softly. "Harry, she must really care about you." He said.

Ginny groaned. "Stop." She told him. "You think you are trying to make things better. You're actually making my life harder right now. Can we move on to discussing the plan of attack on the Death Eaters once they infiltrate the castle?"

"Thank you. I've seen enough teenage drama in my years." Snape told her. "You have a plan of attack?" He asked skeptically.

"Yes." She mocked him. "We are going to incapacitate them before they leave the Room of Requirement and then we can either head on over to Malfoy Manor and deal with Riddle Jr. there, or summon him here. Only problem with summoning him here is we need to kill Nagani first. And apparently, we have to remove the Horcrux from Harry before any of that can happen. How much time do you think we have?" She asked Draco.

He didn't look at her. "About two months, maybe less, maybe more. Probably before Easter at least." He said in monotone.

Dumbledore looked at him curiously. "Something else the matter Mr. Malfoy?" Ginny narrowed her eyes at Dumbledore then glared at Draco. "Ah." He let it drop at that. "Well. I admit, I need some time with all of this." He indicated to everything on his desk. "Why don't the three of you head back to your houses and meet back here after breakfast tomorrow? I may have more questions for you then."

 **AN- Now they know. Now we've stirred the pot.**

 **It was fun for Draco and Ginny... until is wasn't anymore.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Where we left off, in case you've been following the story new chapter by new chapter- Ginny and Draco just told Harry, Snape and Dumbledore about all the Horcrux's (Horcruxes? Haven't decided the correct spelling) and the planned Death Eater attack. Ginny now know's that Harry's Horcrux was the reason she broke up with him, and Draco is not happy hearing that. The three students had just been dismissed from the Headmaster's office.**

 **And now;**

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk as the three students filed out. Once they left Severus Snape went immediately to the small wet bar behind the desk and poured himself and Albus a large tumbler of Scotch.

They drank down their scotch in silence, observing each of the items Ginevra Weasley had placed there in turn.

"Eleven." Snape shook his head muttering to himself as he held the remnants of the diary. "I didn't see it."

"We both missed it." Albus agreed. "Though, looking back."

"Yes. Looking back, how could we have missed it."

They both set down their items and looked at each other, the scotch had disappeared from their glasses and clearly loosened their inhibitions as slow smiles came over their faces. Gradually those smiles turned to laughter. Albus waved his wand and their tumblers filled once more.

"Four! The girl had four of them!" Severus exclaimed. "We were looking so hard and she was just walking around with them decorating her pretty neck." Albus chuckled. Severus was leaning back, relaxed in his chair. "You were so occupied with Potter, I was all occupied with Draco, and the two of them were falling all over themselves for her. We completely didn't see it!" He snorted into his glass as he raised it for another drink.

"A Weasley and a Malfoy? Who would have foreseen that?" Albus asked him shaking his head.

"No one! And it's genius." Severus agreed. "Lucius though! That really blows me away. To think, he was trying to get rid of the Horcruxes before the Dark Lord had returned."

"I just may see the end of this!" Albus looked at his withering hand and polished off his drink. "If only I'd known sooner."

"Well, one good thing did come from finding out at this point." Severus said trying to put a serious expression back on his face. Albus blinked at him through slightly inebriated eyes. "I finally got the Dark Arts position." He snickered. Albus grabbed the diary and threw it at him. Severus laughed harder.

"We need to discuss what to do now." Albus said as convincingly as he could manage, while still laughing intermittently.

"If we did that right now, would you remember it? Because I've had five more fingers more than usual." He held up his nearly finished second glass.

"Alright, alright. Tomorrow. I'll get the hangover potion." Albus stumbled to his feet and went to his bookshelf and pulled out his first edition copy of '1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi' and from behind it took two vials. He hovered one over to Severus, who nodded in gratitude.

Severus drank down the rest of his scotch, then his potion. "Tomorrow then. I will meet you here for breakfast?"

Albus nodded, his eyelids having trouble staying open.

()()()()()()

The three sixth years left the headmasters office silently. As soon as he reached the base of the spiral stair case Draco made to head to Slytherin commons. Ginny caught up with him and tugged on his elbow. He stopped ant turned to her, his mask was still in place.

"Can you wait for me in the Room?" She pleaded.

"Why?" He clenched his jaw.

She narrowed her eyes. "You know why." He looked over her shoulder at the retreating form of Harry Potter, and his disgust was apparent on his face. "Draco. Please." She begged. "I have to talk to him. Please meet me in the Room."

He took a breath and narrowed his eyes at her. "Why don't you just run off with Potter tonight. You don't need me."

"Do you want me to slap you?" She asked, offended. "He is still my friend. Please, just go to the room. I promise I will be there." She put her hands on either side of his face, trying to convey how much she wanted for him to do as she asked. "Please."

His eyes were still blank. "Fine." He sneered.

She stepped back. "Thank you." And ran towards Gryffindor Tower after Harry.

Harry must have been speed walking, because he was almost back to the common room by the time she caught up with him. She kept running when she did and used her momentum to knock him off course and towards the room they'd used the night of the Slug Club party. It was already occupied and being used for it's usual purpose.

"Can you guys give us the room please?" Ginny asked the two snogging fourth years.

"No. Bugger off." The boy told her.

She pulled her wand on them. "Hey. Want to see the spell that knocked our Quidditch Captain on his ass?" Ginny asked brightly.

They cleared off and she cast a minor repelling charm on the door after locking it. Harry pulled her close to him and hugged her. She stood ridged in surprise, not quite understanding what this was.

"Thirty minutes?" He asked softly.

"What?" She replied, confused.

"Thirty minutes until you start feeling it?" He wrapped his arms around her tighter.

She rested her head on his chest and relaxed, letting go of a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Yes. About there."

"Then please, just let me hold you for a little while longer then." He whispered. She could hear the emotions swirling around inside him in his tone.

She sighed and hugged him back. They stood in silence for a while embracing each other. "I'm sorry." She said into his shirt.

He didn't respond to her apology. "I can't believe you've been dealing with this for so long."

Ginny shrugged. "I'm pretty good at compartmentalizing. It helped that no one knew about it except for the Malfoy's."

Harry growled. "So, he's not an evil Death Eater then."

"Not and evil one, no." She told him straight. "Draco anyways. Lucius is still a cold bastard, but I think he just has his family's best interests in mind." It was a hard pill for Harry to swallow. She knew that.

He hesitated a moment. "You've been sneaking around with him all year?"

Ginny pulled back from him then and sat down against the cold stone wall. Harry sat beside her, not touching. "We were meeting up at least once a week normally. I was really just there for emotional support and to throw idea's around. He didn't have anyone else, and there was a lot of pressure on him from Riddle."

"I know the feeling." He grumbled morosely and picked at imaginary lint on his trousers.

"Not alone you don't. You've always had a team of people being your support network. Imagine if you didn't. No Ron or Hermione, or Sirius, and everyone else just expects the worst of you."

"I really don't want to sympathize with him, or work with him." He rested his head back and rolled it to his side so he could look at her.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. We can try to figure out how to transfer the Horcrux out of you and you can do whatever you want after that." He took his hand, trying to show him some sympathy.

Harry looked her face over. "Did you know there was a prophesy saying I had to be the one to kill him? Voldemort?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Prophesies are crap. Once they're heard and recorded, they can easily be changed."

His brow furrowed. "Dumbledore still believes it."

"Dumbledore's an idiot." She fingered her necklace out of habit. "I can't believe he put on that ring." She shook her head.

"So… you don't believe that it has to be me?" His eyes had a small glint of hope and desperation.

"No. And we'll do everything we can to get that thing out of you before the Death Eaters break into the castle. Then it'll all be over. Again. Except properly this time." Her voice sounded certain. Her head wouldn't stop showing her different scenario's of what could happen if things didn't go their way.

"You seem fairly confident." He said. He still sounded glum.

She tapped his chin to make him lift his head up. "No point in stressing over it. All we can do is plan, and I think Hermione will be a big help in trying to make you just you again." She smiled at him softly. "Why don't you go and get Ron. I'll grab Hermione and my book. You can tell them all about it." She stood up.

"You mean 'we' can." He corrected.

Ginny worried her lip. "I have to go."

"You need to go?" He said slowly and looked stunned.

"Um. Yeah. I have to go and talk to…" She trailed off.

"Tonight?" Harry asked at a louder volume than they'd been talking. "Can't you deal with him tomorrow?"

"Not after what he heard in the headmaster's office. He's pissed right now. I wouldn't leave you in that state either." She looked a little stunned herself that he thought she'd just leave Draco to his own devices after hearing something like that.

"After what he heard about what? That I'm a Horcrux?"

"And that that is part of what broke us up." She pointed out, still not grasping why he had trouble with understanding that.

Harry stared at her as it seeped in. "I thought you two were just friends."

Her face dropped. He hand't realized. "We were. I swear Harry. We were. Until we weren't anymore." She felt awful now. He didn't actually think she'd cheated on him, did he?

"When? When did that change?" He asked aggressively.

"Right before the holidays." He expression dropped and he looked like she'd broken up with him all over again. "Harry."

"I can't believe this." He stood up and sent a blasting hex across the room that scorched the wall. "Tom fucking Riddle." He yelled and turned to her. "I do want to be the one to kill him. He's messed with my life too much. First my parents and my godfather. I got stuck with my horrible Muggle relatives and almost every year have something mortally dangerous happen, and now you are with Malfoy because of him?" Harry was furious. He pulled her to her feet and flush against him. "I'm going to be there the whole way through trying to figure out how to get this thing gone."

"Harry." Ginny was wide eyed and worried.

"No. You told me that we had to end it before you fell in love with me and shit hit the fan in this war. If you were that close to loving me while I still have a part of him corrupting your feelings, you will be able to love me properly once it's gone."

He seemed desperate for that to be true. "Harry, please. I'm with someone else." She needed him to calm down.

"For now. Ginny, I love you. And once we transfer the Horcrux I know you can love me too."

He lowered his head to kiss her and she struggled against him and stepped back. "I will not cheat on another one of my boyfriends with you, Harry Potter." She said strongly. Harry looked embarrassed about what he'd just done, but soon enough her words registered with him and he smirked. Clearly, he was feeling better with his plan in mind. "Stop that." She warned, and hated the fact that she had to fight to keep her lips from turning up slightly. She clenched her jaw and gave one shake of her head. "You go get Ron and Neville. I'll go get Hermione and the book."

()()()()()

"Why are they here?" Ron asked Harry.

"The same reason you're here" Ginny bit at him. "You two are Harry's best friends, and Neville and Luna are mine. They've known something was up with me when the three of you didn't notice."

Hermione and Ron's eyes were wide with surprise. "Hermione, could you put a silencing spell on the room?" Harry asked her. "We don't need anyone overhearing."

"Oh good. I have been quite curious." Luna said. Luckily she'd been in Neville's bed with him again. Harry was thankful they'd been clothed when he found them.

"You're really going to tell us everything?" Neville asked Ginny seriously. " _Everything_?" He enunciated and nodded to Harry.

Ginny caught on. He meant her current paramour. She cleared her throat. "Kind of hard to tell you the story with out that part." She shifted uncomfortably and met Harry's eyes, then had to look away. She could see pain reflected there. "Harry, can you start with the prophesy? That's where this whole thing starts."

"Wait. Ginny knows about the prophesy?" Ron asked. "I thought you weren't going to tell her."

"Can you stay quiet and wait until we're done talking? If you have questions after that, then we'll answer them. I want to get this over with quickly." Ginny said abrasively. Ron sat back and crossed his arms.

"Okay." Harry started. "Sixteen years ago there was a prophesy that said 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not, and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.' That is why he's after me. Why he killed my parents." Harry told Luna and Neville.

"Neville was born around the same time as you. That was open to interpretation."

Ginny snorted, she agreed with her. "Sorry." She told Harry. "Anyways. Voldy there had some fail safe's in place so he couldn't be killed. They are called Horcruxes." She handed her Darkest Secrets book to Hermione. "This is how I figured out what the first one was." Hermione took the book and opened her mouth. Ginny cut her off. "A Horcrux is an object that a piece of someone's soul has been trapped in. Effectively making them immortal until it is destroyed. And yes, he made more than one."

"You found one?" Neville and Hermione asked incredulously at the same time.

"Yes. The first one was slipped to me when I was eleven. That's why I ran away to Ilvermory." She confirmed staring straight at Luna, who nodded. Ginny had to hold her hand up to stop Ron, Neville and Hermione from launching into their questions. "And, I've found and destroyed more than one."

This was her second telling that night and she really just wanted to get it over with so she could get back to Draco. "I got the first one when I was eleven, it was Tom Riddles diary. Destroyed it with Basilisk venom when I was at Ilvermory. Found Slytherin's Locket at Grimmauld Place, destroyed it there. Found Hufflepuffs cup in Rudolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. Then found Ravenclaw's Diadem her in the Room of Requirement. Dumbledore has them all now." She tried not to ramble it all off too quickly, then looked over to Harry to pick up the story.

"Dumbledore found the Gaunt family ring, Tom Riddle's ancestors, at their old house and destroyed that one." Harry told them. He was fidgeting. "Now there's just the snake… and me."

Hermione gasped.

"What the fuck!?" Ron yelled.

Luna moved over and took a seat by Harry, taking his hand and staring at him with tenderness in her eyes. Neville was frozen in shock.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked with a tear rolling down her cheek.

"We're sure." Ginny said softly. "A Horcrux manipulates your feelings after prolonged contact." Ginny and Harry were pointedly not looking at each other.

"Manipulates how?" Hermione asked slowly, already assuming the answer.

"Most of them were bringing on feelings of anger and rage. In Harry's case it was more disgust and revulsion." Ginny said quietly.

The room was so silent. Now everyone knew why she had to break up with him.

Luna broke the silence. "And now who was it that gave you the diary? And how did you get into the Gringotts vault, or know there was a Horcrux there?"

Ginny cringed at the question. She wished they had a pensive so they could all just watch what happened in Dumbledore's office, and she didn't have to watch their faces.

"Lucius Malfoy." Harry growled.

"WHAT?" Ron exploded. "That no good, rotten, dirty, bloody Death Eater!"

"RON." Ginny yelled back. "If he hadn't done what he did we wouldn't be anywhere near this close to killing Tom!"

"Who's Tom?" Neville asked.

"That's He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's real name." Hermione told him. "Tom Riddle."

"Well no wonder he changed it." Luna said. "Tom isn't really a foreboding name." She turned to Ginny. "Is that why you named your periods 'Tom'?" She asked pleasantly.

Ginny blushed and laughed. Leave it to Luna to bring that up at a time like this. "Uh… Yes. Time Of Month. Tom. It fits. And he is a bloody bastard." Ginny tried to control her laughter. The other's joined in, relieving some of the tension in the air.

"Seriously?" Neville asked, red faced. "I wondered why you would get all grumbly and tell Luna 'Tom's here'. Kept trying to find someone in the room named Tom."

"Okay, okay. Back to serious discussion." Hermione tried to reel everyone back in. "So, how are we going to deal with getting the Horcrux in Harry out? We can't let him die!"

"We had been contemplating the possibility of transferring it out of him. That's why I want you to read through that book. See if you can find something helpful." Ginny explained.

"How long have you known? About Harry's horcrux I mean." Hermione asked her.

"Um… two hours?" Harry answered.

"And you've discussed the possibility of transference already?" Hermione was impressed.

"Uh" Ginny cringed again. "Um. I didn't mean Harry and I when I said 'we'. I meant… Draco and I."

Even Luna looked surprised at that.

"You've been talking about this with Draco Malfoy?" Ron yelled.

"And then some." Harry muttered angrily.

"And then some?" Ron whirled around at Harry. Then back to Ginny. "What does he mean 'and then some'? You better not have become some Death Eater's slut!"

Ginny withdrew her wand and hexed him into silence before Ron could move a muscle. His mouth was now magically sewn shut and he was forced back into his chair and held there by an invisible force.

"Draco Malfoy was the only one here that knew part of my secret when I returned to Hogwarts. His father had been imprisoned and he had issues of his own that he needed someone to talk to about. We started meeting every week or so. We became friends. Then we became more than friends just before the holiday break. I'll not have you saying or doing anything to him. We need him to put an end to Tom, and I assure you that is what he wants as well."

"Why do we need him?" Neville asked as calmly as he could manage.

"He's been given a task by Tom, and due to that he will be able to know when and where Death Eaters will want to strike the castle. I've been aware of this for a few months, and now Dumbledore knows as well." Ginny explained. "Tomorrow Harry, Draco and I will have a meeting with Dumbledore again and Draco and I will explain our plan of attack."

Harry looked at her startled. "Plan of attack? You have a plan of attack? Shouldn't the Aurors take care of that?"

"Besides Tonks and Kingsley, who do you trust at the DMLE to not be corrupt?"

Harry opened his mouth and closed it again. "You still don't need to be involved in the attack on Death Eaters." He argued.

Ginny raised her eyebrows at him. "If it wasn't for me being honest about the locket this evening you and Dumble's would still be sitting around a Pensive with you thumb up your asses, so don't start telling me what I should and shouldn't do." She narrowed her eyes at him, then to Ron. "I would hate to think that the Malfoys are the only one's that think I am a capable witch." Ron narrowed his eyes right back at her. "Any other questions?"

"How are the Death Eaters going to get in?" Hermione asked her.

Harry opened his mouth to answer.

"Actually." Ginny cut him off. "Can we tell you guys that after our meeting with Dumbledore tomorrow?" Harry gave her a confused look. "And, can we talk about anything else you want to hear tomorrow as well? I… have to go." Harry's eyes dimmed again as his confusion turned to understanding. "I'll trust you all to keep all of this to yourselves." She asked pointedly with a lilt at the end clearly indicating that it wasn't actually a question.

"For obvious reasons, if anyone figures out _anything_ that we've discussed the results could be _devastating._ " She enunciated specific words for Ron. "Like people could _die_. And a war could break out in a way that we won't be able to have the _upper hand._ " They all nodded, except Ron, who rolled his eyes. Ginny stood up. "Good." She turned to Hermione. "I'll trust you to take care of this." She gestured to Ron. Hermione nodded and looked over her boyfriend. "Okay. Um… don't wait up for me." She said awkwardly, and left the room.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna and Neville stayed in the room in mostly silence for almost thirty minutes after Ginny left. Hermione calmed Ron down enough and removed the hex on his mouth before she released him from the chair.

He ranted about Draco and Ginny until he was almost blue in the face. Hermione threatened to put the hex back on him unless he shut it.

Harry had sat there feeling sorry for himself while Ron continued to rant under his breath. Ginny had gone off to see Draco, and spend the whole night with him. The _whole_ night, because Draco Malfoy didn't have a people repellant piece of soul residing in him that would make someone you love want to run the other direction.

It wasn't until Luna snapped "Ron you'd better get over it and quickly, or I'll blast you through a wall, consequences be damned." Then Harry realized she'd never let go of his hand. Hermione, Ron and Neville stared at her in shock. Harry pulled his hand out from hers. She blinked rapidly at the loss of contact. "Oh." She relaxed into her chair. "Thank you, Harry. I feel so much better now." She smiled lazily at him.

"Perhaps we should all go up to bed." Hermione suggested.

All of them went into the sixth-year boy's dormitory. Seamus and Dean had still been in the common room.

()()()()()

It took twice as long to get to the Room of Requirement since it was now well after curfew now and she didn't yet know how to cast the disillusionment charm. She had to stop at every turn.

Once in the room she heard the unmistakable banging of Draco taking his anger out on the furniture again. It got louder as she drew nearer. She stood in full sight of him as he smashed away his aggression.

There was no way she could step in and stop him. He would have to stop of his own accord when he got tired. She dropped down to the floor and waited.

She didn't have to wait too long. He stopped smashing the table leg against the pile of dressers and turned to stare at her. He still had his mask on, despite her having been gone for near an hour. He must be exhausted. He'd had Quidditch practice before their tell-all session.

He moved to stand directly in front of her and she looked up at him. He frowned and she saw sadness reflected in his eyes. She stood up silently and they just stared at each other a while, neither wanting to start off the conversation.

"No." She said finally.

"No, what?" He asked, sounding almost disinterested.

She knew him better than that. He was trying to protect himself with that tone. "Whatever you're thinking. No."

"You don't know what I'm thinking." He raised his aristocratically pompous eyebrow at her. Probably like he'd been taught to all his life.

"I don't, but only because you aren't talking." She admitted, then closed her eyes and bit her lip to plead with him. "Please talk to me."

"Tell me what 'no' would be the answer to."

She opened her eyes again and raised her chin to hold her head high and determined. He needed to see this truth in her eyes. "Does this change things between us? No. Do I regret breaking up with him? No. Am I going back to Gryffindor Tower tonight? No."

"Did he kiss you?"

She wished she'd been better prepared for that question because she hesitated before answering. "No."

"Did he try?" She pursed her lips. He sneered at the inference and stepped back.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked angrily.

His jaw clenched again, but his mask was slipping more. "I didn't like what I heard in your voice when you found out." He told her honestly.

"It does not mean I am going to run off with him once we figure out how to get the piece out of him." She stood still and let him come to her. Which he did. He hadn't taken his button down off this time fore his assault on the furniture. His shirt was damp with sweat. As he drew near she fisted her hand in the shirt to bring him all the way to her. "You were open to the challenge when you thought I was still with him. Even when I was still with him. And now that you have me exclusively you're weary?" She teased.

He relaxed and cupped her cheek. "It was just very hard to hear."

"It was hard for me to hear also. But there's nothing to be done about it. Can we please go and lay down? I'm exhausted, and you must be too."

He smiled softly. "I get you all night?"

She smiled back. "I'm not going anywhere."

()()()()()()()()

Draco woke up and checked the time. 7:16am. Too early to be up on a Saturday, and he was entirely too comfortable. He looked over to see Ginny snuggled up against him. They hadn't done much more than a few kisses last night, but they'd gotten very comfortable under the blankets. He loved the feeling of her warm skin pressed against his.

She'd stripped off her shirt and trousers, and he'd done the same. The hadn't said much either, just traced their fingers along the other and fell asleep to the caresses.

Today they'd have to go back to see Dumbledore, Snape and freaking Potter. Draco didn't want to think about Potter, or how he'd tried to kiss Ginny.

It was obvious that Potter was still in love with her, but she was his. Surely Potter knew that now. Though Ginny hadn't actually told Draco whether she'd told him about them or not. He stroked Ginny's hair and tried to put it out of his mind. Even if Potter wound up with her in the end, Draco had her now, and he'd be damned if he was going to lose her over his jealousy. She meant too much to him.

He leaned down and kissed her softly on her eye lids, then her nose, and shifted down so he could kiss her on the lips. He felt her smile. She snuggled tighter against him and buried her head into the crook of his neck.

"That's a good way to wake up." She sighed.

"I'm a fan of these sleeping arrangements." He ran his hand down her side to rub her bottom.

"By the way. You seemed to really enjoy our little visit to that study the other day."

He could feel her little puffs of laughter on his collar bone. "I don't think 'enjoy' covers it. I don't think I've ever been so completely incapable of thought after, like that. This whole not having actual sex with you thing has been so beyond what I could have imagined."

She hooked her leg behind his and rolled him on top of her. "I think it's time I tell you why I'm waiting."

He groaned, not in pleasure. "Do I really want to know?"

She giggled and he started kissing the tops of her breasts above her bra. "My mum has a chastity ball."

He paused a moment before laughing. Ginny joined in. "A Chastity Ball? Are you shitting me?" Draco smiled against her neck. "That is so…"

"I know." Ginny laughed. "She checked all m brothers until they were sixteen, I told her she better stop checking me then too."

"Urgh. Sixteen? That's months away." He grumbled.

"I know." She said in mock seriousness. "What if you die from lack of shagging?"

He pulled his head up to look into her eyes properly with a smirk. "I bet if we look into it, we can find a way around it."

"We _have_ found a way around it." She rocked against him smirking back.

"Grr. I won't be able to control myself with you for eight months!" Ginny raised her eyebrows at him. Her look really had a way of putting him in his place, he felt he had to correct himself, or else. "No. I mean I will. Obviously. I just don't want to have to." He finished lamely.

"Draco. We haven't been together that long, and I've already gone farther with you than I probably would have with Harry had we not broken up."

He sneered. "Please let that be the last time you mention him while we are in bed together." She smiled a bit at his reaction. "Though, I am glad to hear that you have a harder time controlling yourself around me." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I don't see our relationship as new. It has been a long time coming, and we are due to enjoy each other when we can, however we can."

He ran his hand down her side and pulled her closer to him before rolling her onto her back and coming down on top of her. "You do seem to be enjoying it." He whispered in her ear and nuzzled her neck. Ginny's eyes closed and she hooked her leg over his hip without thinking the movement through. "Don't you want to? Even a little." He purred and ran his hand up and down her thigh. He kissed down her jaw as she hummed in response. "I have no doubt I could find a solution before you go home again." He pulled at her other thigh to hook that leg around him as well and ground into her.

There as only two flimsy pieces of cloth between them. They'd done this before in the prefect's bathroom, but it was different out of the water. He could feel how hot she was through his boxers. He kissed her properly, begging her with his lips to give him what they both desired.

She whimpered as she rocked back against him. He deepened their kiss and in his wanton desperation for her he tugged at the waist line of her knickers gently, praying to get the okay. She placed her hand over his to stop him. He pulled his head back disappointed.

"Don't look at me like that." She scolded him under half hooded eyes. She hadn't stopped moving against him. He had trouble maintaining eye contact due to her hips grinding against him. "I'm not going to give it up like one of your past shags." She arched back as he ground against her harder in his frustration. "And. Not. Ah. After." She moaned. "Oh, just finish me off like this." She grabbed his hips and thy both rocked together frantically until they finished at the same time.

Draco rolled off her, breathing hard, and pulled her with him so she would rest her head on his chest, nestled into his side like how they woke up together.

Ginny sighed and picked up the conversation where they left it off before her hormones had taken complete control of her body. "You're first time may have been some forgettable split-second decision, probably due to some hussy spreading her legs for you, but I don't want that." She whispered and snuggled closer to him.

"I don't want that for you either." He conceded. "I just want you. Properly. And _I_ want to be your first." His eyes were closed. He was spent, and not thinking clearly about what he should or should not say.

Ginny heard his words for what he was actually thinking though. "You're worried I'll go back to Harry before you have a chance to fuck me then?" She growled at him. "Is that it?" She raised herself up to glare at him. She expected him to snap back at her, but he didn't.

His grey eyes were soft and sad. He traced a line down the side of her face with his fingers. "Yes." He answered honestly. "I'm worried you'll find a way to transfer the Horcrux, be able to fall in love with him and leave me here devastated. So, I want to make as much as I can of the time I have left with you." He rose up on his elbow and kissed her tenderly. "And I don't want to fight, or be angry about it."

Ginny rested her forehead against his and sighed. "Draco, I get that this is a crazy situation. But I have no plans to ditch you." She pushed him back down and lay down with him again. Some things were easier to say when she wasn't looking directly at the person she was talking to. She rested her head on his chest. "If I'd known about the Horcrux before, realized that that'd been what was messing with my feelings, then it's true, I may not be here with you. But I did still fancy you when I was with him, and I _am_ here with you now." She traced her fingers along his chest. "I _want_ to be here with you. And there's nothing manipulating my feelings here." She kissed him over his heart and he tightened his arms around her.

 **AN- Sorry if that got a little repetitive with Ginny and Harry's retelling. And I know that the scene with Snape and Dumbledore might have been a little too out there, but they were drunk and a little delirious at the situation. Don't you ever have those moments of hysteria after a bomb is dropped?**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Forewarning. Brooding Harry ahead.**

"Really?!" Dean Thomas' voice rang out through the boys dormitory. He'd just pulled back Seamus' hangings to see he and Parvati in bed together. Under the covers, but clearly naked. "Mate, you can't be shagging your girlfriend in our dorm room when we're two feet away!"

"It's not like you heard anything!" Seamus argued. "Besides, if you didn't rip open the hangings, you wouldn't have noticed!"

Harry climbed out of bed at the commotion. Dean rounded on him.

"Can you believe this? It's disrespectful. I say we take a vote. No more girls getting snuck into the room."

"Erm. You don't want to do that." Harry told him. "Probably not going to find you've won the consensus on it." Harry nodded to Neville's bed and then to Ron's. Both of which had the hangings drawn.

Dean's eyes bugged out. "No fucking way!" He went over to Neville's bed before Harry could stop him and ripped the hangings open. Luna was sitting up and smiling at him in Neville's shirt while Neville wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

Seamus and Parvati giggled. Dean scoffed and ran around to Ron's bed and did the same thing. Ron and Hermione had still been asleep spooning. At least they were dressed.

"Hey!" Ron yelled at him.

Dean threw his hands in the air and looked skyward in resignation. "This is ridiculous." He stomped out of the room. The couples, still in their beds chuckled and pulled their hangings closed once more.

Harry couldn't help but mope as he dressed quickly. He wanted to be able to pull his hangings shut and snuggle back into someone as well. But his love couldn't stand to touch him. No one could, as Luna demonstrated last night.

He hastily wiped his moistening eyes and left the room to get breakfast. He took his mirror with him. He needed to talk to Sirius, he needed someone that loved him unconditionally to tell him everything was going to be alright.

As he headed to the kitchens for breakfast, because the thought of going to the Great Hall was too unbearable, he though this new discovery over.

He was sixteen years-old, and for fifteen of those years he had this evil inside him. Part of him was relieved to know why he had this link with Voldemort, it all made sense now. But to go fifteen years with out knowing people couldn't stand to touch him, that part was devastating. No one had been there to hold him when he was sick, or hurt, or sad. The Dursley's had never held his hand even, and it wasn't like he would ever cuddle up with Ron or Hermione in front of the fire, but to know he couldn't.

His time with Ginny had been amazing, he'd always walked away dizzy with arousal and contentment. When they fell asleep together in his bed he'd been completely relaxed, and spent, but also he thought his heart had never been more full. Now he knew she had never felt the same, and it killed him.

As he entered the kitchen Dobby was the first House Elf that ran up to him.

"Master Harry Potter sir! What can Dobby get for you sir?" His eyes were huge and full of delight, and his big ears were flapping with anticipation.

"Hi Dobby." Harry said morosely. "I just didn't want to eat in the Great Hall today. Mind if I sit here and eat?"

"Of course not Harry Potter sir!" Dobby twitched and quickly collected a plate full of various breakfasts and two coffee's and snapped his fingers. They disappeared. "What would master Harry Potter like sir?"

"What was that?" Harry pointed to where the plate and two coffee's had just been.

"Just breakfast for another master and his miss." Dobby said and went behind Harry to push him into taking a seat.

"A master and his miss? Do you send food to chambers?" He was a little confused. Maybe the professors took food in their rooms sometimes, but he usually saw them all filter in and out of the Hall for meals.

"Only the Come and Go room." Dobby gave him a wavering smile and went to bash his head on the table. "Bad Dobby."

Harry pulled him back. "Dobby! You've been free for three years now, why would you hurt yourself again?" Harry asked alarmed.

Dobby pulled at his ears. "Sorry Harry Potter."

It hit Harry then. "Dobby, was that for your old master?" He asked sadly. Dobby danced from foot to foot in the anxious effort not to reply. "Never mind." He told the elf.

Harry had known Ginny went to see Draco Malfoy last night. But now Dobby had confirmed they spent the night together in the Room or Requirement. His heart may as well have been yanked out of his chest and slapped on the table in front of him. He sat down at a table before as his whole body just wanted to melt into a heap on the floor.

"Dobby is sorry if he has upset Harry Potter sir. Can Dobby do something?"

Harry's eyes were on the precipice of leaking now. "No." Harry mumbled and grabbed a piece of toast and nibbled on it. Each swallow felt like it was a cut down the inside of his throat.

He managed two slices of buttered toast and headed to the Headmasters office. It was still early, but he would rather wait in the quiet of the office then be around other people. The corridors were mercifully free of students past the second floor landing and all the way to the office Gargoyle.

Dumbledore was already there in the office, and so was Sirius.

Sirius threw himself upon Harry right away, enveloping him in a hug. Harry sunk into the comfort of his godfathers embrace, and let a few of his tears fall.

"I had no idea." Sirius told him, hugging him tighter.

"Neither did I." Harry whispered back.

"It explains so much." Sirius shook his head. He pulled back and cupped Harry's cheeks. "You are going to be okay. Everything will be okay." He promised him. Harry just nodded and hugged him again.

"I just finished telling Mister Black here about the Horcrux's, as you might have guessed." Dumbledore said from his desk. "I haven't quite gotten through the whole story."

There was a knock at the door. Harry hastily wiped his eyes and took a seat before the door opened.

"Ginny!" Sirius exclaimed and went to hug her as well. "What are you doing … What is _he_ doing here?!" Draco had walked in behind her and shut the door before surveying Sirius.

"Sirius Black?" Draco asked in confusion. He turned to Ginny for an explanation.

Ginny smiled at Sirius and gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. "I'm glad you're here." Ginny told him. Horror crept over her face. "Wait! My parents aren't coming, are they?"

Sirius clipped her chin lightly. "Still afraid to tell them about us?" He teased.

Ginny relaxed and smirked at him. "I have six older brothers, you should be the one afraid."

Sirius laughed and looked back over at Draco. "So, what is he doing here?"

Draco came to stand possessively by Ginny's side and put his arm around her waist. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Dumbledore rose from his chair. "Perhaps we could all sit down and I will explain." He looked between the three students. "I have only just informed him of what the Horcrux's are. Not the circumstances in which they were discovered. And no, Miss Weasley, I did not think to inform your parents, however."

"No." Ginny cut him off. "I realize that I am underage, but please do _not_ tell them. It will destroy them."

"I will be ignoring my responsibilities if I do not." Dumbledore stated calmly.

"Are you going to call Narcissa Malfoy in here then?" Ginny asked nodding to Draco. "He's underage for another five months." Sirius grinned at her. Dumbledore closed his eyes. He didn't have to say anything. When he opened his eyes again it was easy to see he was damning her with his look for pointing that out. "They will know eventually, but do they have to know my role in this?" She asked evenly.

"If not for you…" Dumbledore started.

"Yeah, yeah." She waved her hand dismissively. "If not for me, it would have been someone else." She sat down and pulled Draco to sit on the other side of her.

"It would have been someone else that did what exactly?" Sirius asked as he took the seat between her and Harry.

Ginny pointed her thumb at Sirius with a closed fist. "Can we just show him in the pensive? I've told this story twice in the last fourteen hours. I'm getting bored with it." Harry and Draco smirked at that.

Dumbledore agreed and led Sirius to the Pensive. "That would save us some time I suppose." Sirius had no objections, be was still giving Draco sideways glances before he disappeared.

Ginny took the opportunity to explain to Draco. "So, Sirius is actually a good guy. He never killed Peter Pettigrew, or those Muggles. That was Peter himself that blew them up."

"I knew that much from my father. But why is Sirius Black _here_?" Draco asked her earnestly.

"He's my godfather." Harry told him shortly. "He's here for me."

"Anyone for tea while we wait?" Dumbledore smiled. "Or breakfast?"

"We've all eaten." Harry shrugged and slouched back in his chair.

"How exactly do you know if we've eaten?" Draco asked angrily.

"Because I was in the kitchens when Dobby sent your breakfast to the Room of Requirement." Harry bit back. Ginny's eyes went wide and she stared at Harry. Draco smirked victoriously at Harry then. Harry's eye's narrowed at him and he scowled.

"Am I to believe that the two of you spent the entire night out of your beds?" Dumbledore asked them calmly.

"Well, we were in a bed." Draco answered smugly. Ginny sent him a glare and he shrugged at her. "We were."

"From now on I would appreciate it if you would stay in you own dorm rooms for your slumber." Dumbledore stated with a quiet severity.

There was a single rap on the door before Snape entered. He nodded to Dumbledore and his brow furrowed at the _two_ remaining open seats.

"I have invited Mister Black to join us. He may be helpful with our research project."

Snape sighed and took the seat on the other side of Draco and they all waited silently and patiently for Sirius to come back out of the Pensive.

"Amazing! Brilliant!" Sirius remarked when he came back out. He went over to stand in front of Ginny and pulled her to her feet before giving her a full kiss on the lips. Her eyes remained open in shock. "Mmmwha. You are simply the most amazing witch I have ever encountered." He had wonder in his dark eyes that were staring transfixed on her wide brown ones. Harry and Draco had both jumped to their feet at his sudden assault on her. "You should have been in Slytherin." He beamed. "And my offer still stands. Even more so now." He winked.

Ginny rolled her eyes and covered his hands on her face with her own and pulled them off. "Thanks. But my life is complicated enough with-out that reminder." She answered wryly.

"What offer?" Draco snarled.

"To marry me of course." Sirius smirked at him.

"She is twenty years your junior." Snape pointed out.

"Love is love Snivillus, even you know that." Sirius said with a boyish glee.

"Can we all sit back down and get on with this?" Ginny asked, sitting back in her chair and scowling at the desk.

Sirius took his seat beside her, still smiling. Draco and Harry glanced at each other and took their seats as well.

"Fantastic." Snape deadpanned. "So, on to our plan of attack for the infiltration of Death Eaters? I believe we must examine the area so we might be able to find how to best entrap them before they can call the Dark Lord."

"The room is quite large, and labyrinthian in it's lay-out." Draco drawled. "It will be quite easy to lead them down the wrong aisle and trap them."

"We've thought it over, and came up with a mix of Muggle and magical methods to bring them down. I've already enlisted the twins help with that." Ginny told them. She pulled her shrunken paint ball gun out of her pocket and walked around to the side of the desk before enlarging it. She then aimed it at Sirius and shot him in the stomach once. "That's for kissing me with-out my permission." She smirked.

He looked down in shock at the blue paint splatter than now decorated the front of his robes.

"What was that?" Snape asked calmly, though forcing back his surprise.

"Paintball gun." She smiled, still looking at Sirius. "Fred and George are working on a potion that will incapacitate a person on impact, and won't degrade the plastic capsules. Under rain of fire and hexes we will be able to startle and confuse the crap out of those bastards. At the same time we will have another surprise attack on Malfoy Manor where Tom and Nagini should be and take care of then too." She placed the gun on Dumbledore's desk and sat back down.

"You want us to attack Death Eaters with a Muggle toy?" Snape asked her wearily.

Ginny shrugged. "You lot didn't expect it, neither will they."

"And how do you propose we get a team of people to attack Malfoy Manor?" Sirius asked amused with the whole idea.

"I don't know." Ginny sighed at him. "Transfigure them into peacocks until it's time to strike? Do I have to come up with everything? Do some of your own heavy lifting."

"How do you know we have peacocks?" Draco asked her, smiling and taking her hand.

"I saw one when I was there." She told him plainly.

"When were you at Malfoy Manor?" Dumbledore asked worried.

"After getting the cup from Gringotts." She pointed to the Hufflepuff cup on the desk.

"And…" Sirius started. "If we haven't figured out how to get the Horcrux out of Harry by the time this happens?"

"Well if the twins get the potion for incapacitation to work then I propose we knock Voldemort out and throw him in the Malfoy dungeon cells until he can be killed." Draco stated.

"Your plan seems quite simple." Dumbledore pondered.

"If you have a better one, then we're all ears." Draco said monotonously.

Dumbledore stared back at him. "We do have the prophesy to worry about."

Draco and Ginny scoffed. "I'm pretty sure if you had Professor Sinstra translate the stars right now they'd say something about a ginger and platinum blond fighting to change that prophesy, or some such nonsense. Prophesies are crap, influenced by the people who believe in them. Let Voldy fall for that, because we won't." Ginny shook her head.

"Perhaps we can see this room with the Vanishing Cabinet? Map the layout." Snape suggested.

Ginny leaned over to Draco before they stood. "Think we can manage to find a way around them seeing the bed?" She whispered in his ear.

Draco gave her a true smile. "Not really. It would be pretty obvious if I ran ahead to move it. I'll see what I can do though." He whispered back and helped her to her feet, she chuckled softly.

They all stood to exit the room. Harry held his invisibility cloak to Sirius who grinned at the sight of it. He was positively giddy to get out of Grimmauld Place and explore the castle again.

Harry looked over at Draco and Ginny and caught Draco smiling. He didn't think he'd ever seen a true smile on Draco Malfoy's face before. Nor had Snape, who had caught the transaction as well.

"Does everyone know where the room is?" Draco asked.

"I do." Harry said gruffly.

"Good. Meet us there." Draco disillusioned himself and Ginny. Ginny was surprised. The tingling sensation swept over her, and she heard Draco walk quickly towards the door. It opened and shut before the rest of them had made a move towards it.

"Um… Where are we going?" Asked an invisible Sirius.

"Seventh floor." Ginny said and went to open the door for everyone to file out. "Harry. Lead the way. I'll get the door to the room open when we get there."

Harry didn't say anything as he left the office. Ginny and Sirius kept bumping into each other as they followed behind Dumbledore and Snape, Sirius finally just took her hand in his. The seventh-floor corridor was thankfully empty of other students and professors. Ginny paced back and forth and the door appeared.

Draco was standing, visible, on the other side. Ginny went to him and took his hand so he would know where she was to release his spell on her. "This way." Draco led the four men through the aisles with Ginny by his side. She saw the bed they'd been using. Draco had levitated it on top of a pile of other furniture.

"Amazing." Dumbledore said. "No matter how many decades I've spent in this castle, it never ceases to surprise me." He chuckled.

Sirius and Snape were looking around amazed with the collections of items as well. "Merlin, it's like the history of Hogwarts all resides in this room." Sirius said.

"All this should be sorted and catalogued." Snape agreed. "There could be true treasures buried in here."

"Way to make it sound tedious. You just suck the fun out of everything." Sirius chided.

"Boys. Stop bickering." Ginny called back. She and Draco stopped at the Vanishing Cabinet.

"Ah! I believe this had been on the first floor last year." Dumbledore examined it.

Draco nodded. "Graham Montague was trapped in it last year. That was how I found out about it. He was trapped between here and Borgin and Burkes."

"Before Apparating himself into a toilet." Harry smirked.

Sirius and Ginny laughed. They hadn't heard the story of how Fred and George Weasley had tossed the Slytherin into the cabinet when he tried to deduct house points from them during his first day on the Inquisitorial Squad. The boy then managed to Apparate himself into a toilet on his first ever time Apparating.

"And, how did you discover it was moved here?" Dumbledore asked Draco.

"I asked Dobby." Draco told him.

"That crazy House Elf that was pestering you all of you second year?" Sirius asked Harry.

"What?" Draco and Ginny asked together. Snape looked curiously to Harry as well.

"Is that why he was given clothes?" Draco asked Harry.

"Yeah. Saw your father with him in Diagon Alley when I was staying there before my third year. Guess Lucius didn't realize that Dobby had been 'helping me' the whole previous school year. Apparently he wasn't supposed to have."

"Harry Potter. Boy Who Lived, Chosen One, and the Freer of House Elves." Ginny teased him. Harry smiled at her. He was feeling marginally better now with Sirius there, and Ginny being herself with him.

"So, Dobby told you where to find it?" Snape brought the conversation back around to Draco.

"Yes, the House Elves stick extra clutter in this room. Apparently they have been doing so for centuries."

Sirius looked around at the piles. "Well, I guess we should map the lay-out."

"There are brooms back that way." Ginny pointed back the way they came.

Dumbledore looked down the aisle the opposite way. "It looks like not everything will be salvageable." He commented, looking down at the broken glass and splintered wood decorating the floor.

"Oh." Ginny blushed. "Yeah, that was me." Draco smirked when all the others turned to her surprised. He remembered the day she came in to vent her frustrations. "I break things when I'm angry or frustrated." She smiled and shrugged. "I _am_ a red head after all." Even the corners of Snape's mouth twitched up at that.

"What set this off then?" Dumbledore asked chuckling.

Ginny bit her lip and looked between Draco and Harry. "A Horcrux apparently." She muttered.

Harry's face tinged pink and he smiled softly, clearly proud that she had been so worked up over their break-up.

In all their time hanging out in the Room of Requirement, Ginny and Draco hadn't tried flying around it to really explore. They'd entered the room and headed straight for the Vanishing Cabinet, but grabbing the ancient brooms and floating shakily up to the ceiling, they saw the actual expanse of the room. It was maybe half the size of the Great Hall, though from the ground it looked like it could have been triple that.

Sirius had drawn up a rudimentary map while Dumbledore wandered around examining different items with Snape not far behind him. Harry was following close to Sirius and Draco and Ginny had gone off in different directions to inspect the clutter.

"That should do her." Sirius yelled out and the four fliers touched down by Dumbledore and Snape near the exit.

"Have the aisles ever changed, or shifted?" Dumbledore asked Draco as he inspected Sirius' handiwork.

"Things get added now and then, but I haven't noticed any changes in the aisles unless I accidentally asked for something." The older wizards stared at him confused.

"Like one time I said I was hungry and food appeared." Ginny clarified.

"And last year, in the DA, if we needed a practice dummy I would just think about one and it would appear." Harry told them.

"Astounding." Dumbledore shook his head.

"I can't believe James and I never found this room when we were here." Sirius said looking around more. "Can this room make anything? Like a bedroom?" He grinned mischeviously.

"Yes." Harry and Ginny answered in unison. They met each-other's eyes for a moment and Ginny felt her face warm and she looked away. Harry looked at her longer, enjoying watching her blush. He noticed Draco step closer to her then and locked eyes with him. The Slytherin glared at him while Harry smiled smugly.

A broken clock chimed behind Snape. "Quidditch!" Ginny said suddenly.

"What?" Sirius asked.

Ginny turned to Draco. "You have Quidditch practice! You have to go."

"I think this is a little more important." He told her.

"We can fill you in on what you missed later. You have to go." She argued.

"Do you really think Quidditch is more important than this?" Snape asked her incredulously.

Ginny outright glared at him. "I think if he wants to avoid anyone questioning his whereabouts that it is a good idea to keep up appearances. It's not like we're attacking anyone today."

"I can skip one practice."

"No, you can't."

"Ginny."

"You really want to have this argument again? Because if you think that these guys being here will stop me from yelling at you, think again." She challenged him.

Draco's cheeks tinged pink while the other men tried not to laugh at how the tiny ginger girl was putting him in his place. Draco glared at her for embarrassing him, but walked around her and exited the room with-out another word.

"Don't laugh, or I'll rip into each one of you too." Ginny warned them. "If you think my mum is scary, keep in mind I've got her ability to tear you down, and the twins ability to blow you up."

"We've no doubt." Dumbledore told her. "Now then. There is still much to discuss."

"I think the most important part is to get the Horcrux out of Harry." Sirius said, crossing his arms.

"We told Hermione. She's probably already started researching." Harry assured him.

"You told Granger?" Snape asked angrily.

"And Ron, Neville and Luna." Ginny told him.

"That is a lot of people that could potentially give this information to the wrong person." Snape said through gritted teeth.

"They are our closest friends, and we trust them completely." Harry growled at him. "Which is more than I can say for you."

"Harry." Dumbledore warned him.

"Harry, we need him. We have to have a Death Eater on our side to get intel. And I think we need one more actually. But it'll be entirely complicated to try and get in touch with him." Ginny told them.

"Lucius Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked. Ginny nodded.

"No bloody way!" Harry shouted staring at Ginny in astonishment that she could ever suggest such a thing.

"We know he wants Voldemort gone. And we know that Malfoy Manor is where they are both staying." Ginny fought back.

"It would take quite a lot of planning to so much as slip him a message. He has been a prisoner in his own home since he was freed from Azkaban." Snape informed them.

"What about his wife then?" Sirius asked.

"She was allowed to come here to get Mister Malfoy over the holidays. Perhaps she could be of use instead." Dumbledore reasoned.

"Oh, cousin Cissy." Sirius grinned. "Didn't mind her before she got married off. No where near as crazy as Bella." Snape visibly shuddered at the mention of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"You could call her in saying something about Draco getting into trouble for dabbling in the dark arts or some kind of nefarious dealings. Make it look like he got caught trying to kill you." Ginny said excitedly.

"Perhaps." Dumbledore chuckled at her exuberance.

"Anything else we need to talk about right now?" Ginny asked.

"Do you have somewhere else you need to be?" Sirius asked her.

"Well, I would like a shower, then I have a research project I'd like to get started on." She gestured to Harry.

"I may be able to find some research materials to assist you with that." Snape offered.

"There's probably something around the house too." Sirius nodded.

"Anything you can find would be helpful." Ginny said. "When should we meet up again?"

"Bet we can all get detention in a few days." Harry looked at Snape.

"I've no doubt." Snape rolled his eyes. "Just don't use that atrocious language again." He said to Ginny, who smiled angelically.

"Which word was it you had a problem with?" She batted her eyelashes at him. He sneered at her and left.

Dumbledore turned to Sirius. "I will expect to see you back in my office before lunch." He told him and followed Snape out.

Ginny shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, observing the two male's left in the room with her. They obviously had some talking to do after all these bombshells that had been dropped on them. "I'll see the two of you later then."

Harry touched her arm to stop her from leaving. They stared at each other a moment. "Hermione's probably in the library." He said after hesitating.

Ginny nodded and gave him a tight smile. "See you later Snuffles." She said to Sirius, then left the two of them alone in the room.

"I think I know why you were so bummed over the holidays then." Sirius told Harry lightly. "Definitely didn't foresee any of this though."

"It's like every time she opens her mouth I'm getting slapped in the face with the secrets she had, or plans up her sleeve." Harry sighed. He was both in awe and confusion over it.

"One in a million she is." Sirius nodded. "How are you feeling? Really?"

Harry gave it serious thought for a minute. "I have no idea." He shook his head.

"Relieved? Angry? Suffocated?" Sirius offered.

"All that and more. I just found out that people can't bare to touch me for more than a hald hour. And the fact that it took me fifteen years to figure that out…" Harry trailed off.

Sirius regarded him with sad eyes before stepping forward and hugging him close. "You know, I blame myself for that."

"How do you figure that?" Harry asked confused.

"If I hadn't acted so rashly and gone after Peter, then Remus and I would have been there for you when you were growing up. Not just your mothers horrible relatives." Harry could see the true regret painted all across his Godfather's face.

"You didn't know. You were only twenty."

"And you are sixteen, telling me that." Sirius inclined his head.

"We can't change the past." Harry sighed.

"No, we can't. So now we can focus on getting this thing out of you." Sirius pulled back from Harry and they sat down on the floor.

Harry saw Sirius' face twitching, and he could tell the older Marauder was holding back more questions. "Go ahead and let it out." Harry rolled his eyes.

"I mean! Eleven?!" The words burst forth from his mouth. "The first time I met her she certainly made an impression. She'd been terrorizing the twins, who doesn't find that ability in itself inspiring? But she just happens upon piece after piece of Voldemort and turns it into a fashion accessory, and then carries on. I mean, wow. Her story is amazing! Never would have seen her teaming up with the Malfoy's. Which means, the Death Eaters wouldn't see it either. Oh! And she's managed to fund her schooling the last three years. When I saw her gorgeous face in the mirror last Christmas, I was super impressed!"

"Uh… you weren't actually serious about wanting to marry her, are you?" Harry half teased, but he wanted to be sure. Sirius was really ranting about how great she was, and it didn't sound like he was done.

"Of course not." Sirius waved him off. "I'm just kidding there. But she's some kind of something, isn't she?"

"I told her I loved her last night." Harry sighed.

"Oh. That's… messy." He said delicately. "Did you know about her and the Malfoy boy?"

Harry nodded and rubbed his hands all over his face. "I don't know what I was thinking. I was such a mess last night. After we left Dumbledore's office she and I found a classroom and I hugged her and told her I would never stop trying to get her back."

Sirius' eyebrows shot up. "What did she say to that?"

Harry couldn't help the sly grin on his face at that. "That she wouldn't cheat on _another_ boyfriend with me."

"Another?" Sirius smiled. It looked like he was a little impressed with Harry now too.

"Yeah. Last year, when you caught us at Grimmauld Place, she'd forgotten about her boyfriend in America."

Sirius barked with laughter. "Stealing witched. Ahh, those were the days. I remember how Marlene McKinnon was dating a Hufflepuff when I convinced her to… uh. Nevermind."

"Convinced her to what?" Harry asked, interested.

"Um. I may have deflowered her in my dorm room."

Harry's mouth hung open. "How'd you talk her into that? What happened with her after?"

"I'm not going to give you pointers on that one. And she was mad at me for a long time after that." Sirius told him. "I did actually like her very much, and I ruined it. You haven't ruined anything with Ginny. Just keep hanging around her. Hopefully this will all work out in your favour in the end."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, hopefully. I mean. It's like I'm seeing her in a whole new light. I remember after she sent me that letter, after Cedric dying, then in the kitchen at Grimmauld telling me me she wasn't my friend. That's when I really started to notice her."

Sirius snorted at the memory. "What's. My. Name. Ah, priceless. I didn't even know what her name was!"

"I'm pretty sure I'd never heard it said before. I wasn't there for her sorting, that was the only time I think it had been mentioned." Harry chuckled. "Well anyways, after that it was like I'd kept discovering all these amazing things about her, and realized how pretty she was. And when she kissed me for the first time."

"You sound like James going on and on about Lily." Sirius grinned.

"Really?" Harry asked shyly.

"Oh yes." Sirius nodded. "He would go on and on about how pretty and brilliant she was. It annoyed the crap out of us. Six years we had to listen to that. Then we had to listen to his gloating once he finally convinced her to give him a chance."

"Six years?!"

"Yeah. Bloody annoying it was. Never thought she'd give in. But he was in love, and persistent." He patted Harry's leg. "I didn't encourage James, because I thought it was hopeless, but you Potters, you get what you fight for." He smiled. "Did you say she kissed you first?"

Harry beamed. "Yeah. She uh, said she was surprised I'd never been snogged before, then she kissed me."

"What did you do then?"

Harry blushed. "I told her I thought she said snogging. Then we snogged."

Sirius roared with laughter. "That's brilliant!"

Sirius and Harry sat in silence for a moment, staring off into the middle distance. Sirius was thinking about his former love, Marlene, and how he wished he could have been there for Harry. Harry was thinking about what his life would have been like if he hadn't had this piece of evil living in him. Was it the reason for why he brooded so much? It was certain now that the Horcrux was the reason he had been linked to Voldemort and the snake.

"If I didn't have this in me, then Mr. Weasley might have died last year." Harry said out loud. Just making that connection.

Sirius focused his eyes on his godson. "That's true."

"Do you think I should try to use that link then? To try and figure out what he's up to?"

"I want to say no." Sirius said after a few moments contemplation. "But if it were anyone else, I would encourage them. So instead I'll say, perhaps we should do more research on this dark magic before you start strengthening the link, or harnessing your inner Voldemort."

 **AN- I feel like this chapter is shorter than some others. But according to the word count it isn't. Perhaps because the one I'm going to post next week has more going on...**

 **Can someone tell me what OOC stands for? I've no idea, and it's been mentioned in a few reviews. Own Original Character?**

 **And finally, enough with the 'I don't like the Drinny' bit. I warned you in the summary that there was going to be _some_ of that. I had someone even comment on a review. Didn't know people actually read the reviews besides the authors. I never have.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.**

Ginny found Hermione, Luna, Neville and Ron in the library with stacks of books in front of them. Even Ron was so focused on what he was reading that none of them noticed her approach. She peered over Hermione's shoulder and skimmed the notes she'd been collecting. All references to books and page numbers, noting relation to Transference, Dark Magic, Souls, Healing and such.

"How long have you all been here?" She asked. All but Luna jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Two hours." Luna answered with out looking up.

"Professor McGonagall gave me a permission slip to use books from the restricted section." Hermione said with a hint of pride in her voice.

Ginny nodded and sat down. Ron was scowling at her. "So, you and… I can't believe.. where…" He started off trying to lay into Ginny, then turned to his girlfriend. "Damn it, Hermione!"

Hermione smiled softly at him and leaned over to give him a brief kiss before turning to Ginny. "I cast a small compulsion charm on him. He can't talk about… you know. You and … him."

Ginny's jaw dropped for a moment as she stared at the older girl in wonder, then beamed at her. "Thank you! I can't believe I didn't think of that!" Ron would not have been able to stop himself from blurting out her relationship information on his own. Now more than ever Ginny was glad she and Hermione were friends. "How has the progress been? Find anything helpful?"

"One moment." Luna said and cast a silencing spell around the table. "We've checked multiple books, as you can see."

"The book you had was very helpful with how they are created, and what exactly it is that we are dealing with. And we already know how to destroy it obviously, but not with out killing Harry in the process." Hermione picked up.

"We've been checking a lot of books on transferring magic, hoping there would be a way to sort of, call the spirit out." Neville said.

"Muggles call it 'exorcism'." Luna said. "That's all looking like it won't work."

"Don't Dementor's suck out souls? Can't we just get one to suck out the bad one?" Ron moaned flipping his book closed.

Ginny and Hermione shared a pondering look. "That's not actually a bad idea." Ginny said.

"Certainly worth looking into." Hermione agreed. "Ron, can you go get a book on Dementors?" She flipped over her parchment. "We'll need to know exactly how that works. If they destroy the soul that they remove, or store it in some way."

"We should talk to someone who's actually seen it happen too." Ginny added. "Like, was the soul an actual visible entity, or did it just pass from body to Dementor like that." She snapped her fingers.

"And if he really has two souls in him right now, then how will we know which one is actually Harry's?" Neville asked.

"Where is Harry?" Luna asked Ginny.

"He's with Sirius." Ginny replied off handedly. Hermione kicked her under the table. "Ow! What was that for?" Hermione's eyes were wide and she nodded to Neville and Luna, who were staring at Ginny with confused and surprised expressions. Even Luna.

"Sirius?" Neville asked. "As in Sirius Black?"

"Oh… shit." Ginny had completely forgotten that Sirius was a wanted escaped convict, and her friends were still unaware of that fact. "Right. So um…"

Ron returned to the table with a book on magical dark creatures. "What happened?" He asked, noticing everyone staring at each other pointedly.

"Ginny just mentioned that Harry was with Sirius." Hermione told him, still giving Ginny a scolding expression.

"Oh! Is Sirius here?" Ron asked delighted. Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and rested her head in her hands.

"What she was getting at." Ginny explained to him. "Was that I forgot that Neville and Luna were still in the dark on him being innocent. And Harry's loving godfather."

"He's innocent?" Neville asked astounded.

"Yes. And everyone in the Order of Phoenix knows." Ginny assured him.

"He's actually really cool. And fun." Ron told them.

Luna turned to Hermione. "You know, the Quibbler printed an article on that, and you said that it was nonsense."

"He's still not the lead singer of the Hobgoblins!" Hermione said exasperated.

"Says you. I shall have to hear that from Stubby Boardman himself." And Luna turned back to her book.

Ginny smiled and pulled a book from the stack in front of them. They all buried themselves in their materials until lunch time, then headed down to the Great Hall.

As they reached the entrance to the hall, the Slytherin Quidditch team was headed in from practice. Draco looked tired, and got a bit of a funny expression on his face when he noticed her and her company, he smirked a bit when Ginny winked at him though. His team didn't notice, but Ron did and yanked her arm to keep her moving to the table.

Harry came in as they were finishing up their lunches. "Hey mate! How're you doing?" Ron asked him as he sat down.

"I'm dealing." Harry responded tersely. He wasn't looking at any of them, he was focusing on filling his plate.

"Um. So after lunch, we thought we'd go back to the classroom and chat?" Hermione offered.

"Could we go somewhere more comfortable?" Luna asked. "I would very much like to have a more plush seating option."

"I second that." Ginny said.

"Okay. Where?" Hermione asked.

An owl swooped down and dropped a letter in front of Harry.

 _Please find your way back to my office after your meal. Your companions are welcome to join. -AD_

"I guess we're going back to his office." Harry folded the letter back up and shoved it in his pocket. Harry continued to eat in a cloud of gloom.

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks. They had lots of experience with Harry's brooding moods and knew it was best to just leave him be. Neville looked uncomfortable. The Golden Trio had been so close, and he was only with them now because of Ginny. He wasn't sure what to do, or how he could possibly contribute, so he remained quiet and grabbed Luna's hand under the table, absent mindedly playing with her rings. Luna alternated between staring up at the false sky that the enchanted ceiling provided, and looking at Neville.

Ginny took a turn inspecting each of these characters around her and couldn't help but shake her head at everyone's tension. "I'm going to go see if Ethan is up for a chat." She stood up. "Meet you all in a half hour?"

Hermione nodded first, followed by the others except Harry.

She made her way out the hall and up the stairs. She understood that Harry was having a hard time dealing with his feelings about his being a Horcrux, but thought he would have been in a better mood after hanging out with Sirius. Maybe he was just coming around to dealing with certain aspects of his feelings and thoughts? She certainly hadn't addressed how she felt about him telling her he loved her, and that he'd fight to get her back.

That was a lot. Huge even. She'd moved on with Draco. Well, she'd moved forward with Draco. She was kind of angry with Draco for trying to have sex with her that morning, and pissed that he'd made her too horny to want to stop fooling around. The boy had skills. Damn her hormones.

Ginny chewed her lip as she wandered down the corridors towards Gryffindor. She had really liked Harry, that's why she waited so long after they'd broken up to make a move on Draco.

Dumbledore's comment yesterday about what her level of affection toward Harry must have been, given how susceptible she would have been to the power of the Horcrux, had been pushed to the back of her mind. She was enjoying being with Draco. He was there for her, she was there for him. Even before their attraction to each other had taken over them, they enjoyed each-others company. They were a team. Being with him felt like a natural progression.

She reached her dorm and was glad to find that Lavender and Parvati weren't there. It was a Saturday and the two of them were probably off with their boyfriends. She grabbed her mirror out of her trunk. She'd learned not to keep it on her while she was in class, he'd called her a few times and the mirror got hot if it vibrated too long with him trying to get in touch with her. She knew he was just being a shit and trying to get her in trouble. Ethan knew the time difference.

It was one in the afternoon now. Six a.m. on a Saturday would be a great time to wake Ethan up. "Ethan." Ginny yelled at her own reflection. "Ethan." She said again in a sing-song voice. She was on her seventh attempt when her face vanished, and now she was looking at Jason.

"Hey." He said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Ethan didn't come back last night." He told her.

"Shacking up with some bimbo again, eh?" Ginny smiled at him.

Jason had been a great friend to her the previous year. She'd missed him a bit too, and felt bad about not staying in touch with him better. "Nah." He yawned and stretched out. "Movie marathon. He probably fell asleep watching 'Revenge of the Nerds' covered in popcorn." He smiled. "How're you doing across the pond?"

"Oh. I'm…" Ginny started off with a smile, but quickly dropped the façade. She didn't quite have it in her to be false. She had never felt the need to pretend with Jason, she wasn't about to start faking being chipper now. "War and boy trouble. That's how I'm doing. But at least my school work isn't suffering." She shrugged with the half joke. "Look. I'm sorry for waking you up so early. Did it to bug Ethan."

"I don't mind. We miss you around here." Jason said with some concern on his face. "Is the war over there really affecting you that much?"

Ginny sighed and nestled in comfortably against her pillows and headboard. "Yes, and no. There aren't any battles or anything, but there is still an evil, crazy Dark Wizard wreaking havoc." She let out an involuntary laugh. "Sorry. It's been a pretty crazy 24hrs here, and I haven't really had time to process it yet. Not really in control of myself." She was a bit startled at how abruptly her eyes were moistening and wiped away an escaped tear. "How are you doing? Tell me something. Take my mind off it."

Ginny and Jason chatted about lighter subject matter for about twenty minutes, he got her laughing about some fumbled Quidditch plays he'd observed, since he didn't play. He told her about his girlfriend and plans for his summer travels, then she had to go. She missed Ilvermory so much, everything there was not shrouded in this impending cloud of 'what if' that Hogwarts was. Sometimes when everyone was in class, or the Great Hall there would be these eerily quiet moments and the tension in the air was almost palpable. It made her want to set off Wildfire Whiz Bangs, just to get everyone out of their own heads.

She wandered through the Gryffindor common room and left the tower to head to Dumbledore's office.

"Weaslette!" Ginny was still a few corridors away from her destination when someone called out her name. It was Blaise Zabini. He was by himself.

"Can I help you with something?" She'd never talked to him before, though they had several classes together. He was a smart and good-looking Italian guy, but why he'd be interested in talking to her, she didn't know. Through Draco she knew he was staying well away from picking a side in the war, which was why they weren't friends, so he couldn't be there at Draco's request.

"Hey." He smiled charmingly at her when he got close. "You can help me. I was wondering if you were free this afternoon?"

"No. I'm not. Why though?"

"Meeting someone?" He asked, raising one of his eyebrows ever so slightly.

She had the feeling he was checking her out, but his attractive eyes didn't leave her own eyes for a second. "Uh… yes. I am."

"Mind meeting me later then? After dinner maybe?"

"To what end?"

"You seemed a little tense earlier, thought I might be able to help you out with that." He leaned into her a bit and she could smell his light, but intoxicating, cologne. Her eyes went wide. "Don't worry. I'm very discrete." He whispered.

Ginny's jaw dropped. He wanted to hook up with her? "I think I'm going to be busy after dinner too. But thanks for the offer." She finally managed and let out an involuntary giggle that she wanted to damn herself for. She was not a blushing, giggling idiot.

"I don't get you." He put a little more space between them. He sounded confused, not angry or disappointed. "You've had guys asking you out since you started back here, and turned down every one of them. Are you not into guys?"

Ginny let out a full laugh. "No, no. I'm into guys." She assured him. "But you see, I too can be discrete." She smiled wide and winked at him.

"I knew you weren't a prude." He shook his head. "Well, can't say I didn't try. You ever find some space in your schedule, let me know." He winked back.

"What makes you think I'm interested?" She asked. He gave her a look. He knew how appealing he was to the fairer sex, and damn if that didn't make him all the more appealing. She smiled shaking her head. "Thanks. I'll keep it in mind."

"That is all I ask." He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it before continuing on his way.

She continued on hers, feeling pretty satisfied with herself. Blaise Zabini was hot, and if she didn't already have a crazy complicated romantic life she might have seriously considered having a one off with him. She hoped her blush wasn't apparent as she came upon the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

She bit back a yelp as she felt two hands at her hips and a kiss on her neck, though no one was there. "That disillusionment charm is going to get you in a lot of trouble one day."

"Mmm. But that day is not today." Draco whispered in her ear. She didn't turn around to face him. She wouldn't have been able to see him anyways.

"I'm relieved he invited you too. I hate having to reiterate things."

"What do you suppose we're in for here?"

"Well, we made some headway with trying to remove the Horcrux." She whispered, "But probably talk about plan of attack too."

Draco growled a bit. "If they even let us be involved. What do you want to bet he tries to pass this on to the 'adults'."

"Oh, he definitely will. I mean _we_ are much too juvenile to deal with such things." She rolled her eyes. "We should convince him to play dead though." She said seriously. "Much longer and you and your family could get hurt." He just hummed in response.

Ginny said the password and Draco removed his charm before they entered the office.

Hermione and Ron were there with Harry. Luna and Neville were absent though. Hermione was standing at a few conjured blackboards and was jotting down all they'd found out about transference and Dementors on one of them. Two others were blank.

Harry looked up when they entered, then returned to glowering while reading what Hermione was writing. Ron was turning from red to purple in anger. Snape and Dumbledore were there as well, they simply nodded in greeting.

"Where are Neville and Luna?" Ginny asked.

"They went back to the library." Hermione said and turned around. "Oh. Hello Malfoy." She said unsurely.

"Granger." He nodded stiffly.

"Why did they go back to the library?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"They thought they would be more help researching. Said they didn't need to be involved in everything." Hermione told her.

Draco nodded and took a seat. Ginny stared at Hermione. Luna had been the one who suggested they find somewhere more comfortable to carry on. "Who suggested that?" Ginny narrowed her eyes at Hermione.

"Who suggested he be here?" Ron burst out and pointed at Draco.

"Seriously Weasley? I know you were told the whole story. I'm more involved in this than you are. What are you doing here?" Draco sneered at him.

"Death Eater." Ron sneered back.

No one had a chance to respond before Ginny was suddenly in front of him and slapped Ron hard across the face. "From here on out, if you don't have anything constructive to say you better keep your mouth shut, or else. Understood?" She threatened him menacingly. Ron swallowed hard and nodded. "That goes for everyone." Ginny said to the room while not taking her eyes off Ron. "Anyone says something prejudiced and wastes time, I'm resorting to physical violence."

"Miss Weasley." Dumbledore said calmly.

Ginny looked over at him where he was seated behind his desk. "Don't think you're an exception to that old man." She smiled cheekily. Draco snickered. Even Harry allowed himself a small smile at that. Dumbledore was visibly upset with her for physically hitting her brother, but even he seemed somewhat amused by her cheek. Ginny turned to face Hermione. "Now. Did you in any way encourage Luna and Neville to go back to the library instead of joining us?"

"To what end would they have assisted us?" Snape asked.

"Neville knows more about plant poisons and hallucinogenic properties than anyone I know, including you." She pointed out. "And I thought we could harness that for when it comes to taking over Malfoy Manor. And Luna sees through bullshit better than I do. It's a very helpful quality around some people." She inclined her head towards Dumbledore.

"Was that a bit of prejudice there?" Snape raised his eyebrows in challenge.

"Fact. He's in the habit of not giving straight answers. It's annoying." Ginny said.

"I may have encouraged them. I'm sorry." Hermione blushed.

Ginny took the chalk out of her hand. "Don't do it again." She went to a blank chalk board. At the top she wrote 'Deceiving Tom Riddle', and at the top of the third she wrote 'Killing Tom Riddle'.

"Okay, so we've got these three tasks. One- getting the Horcrux out of Harry. Two- How to keep Draco alive by making sure Tom thinks he's following his orders. And three- how to get to Tom and kill the snake followed by the man himself."

"We will have the Order to help with the last one." Snape pointed out. Ginny and Draco shared a look. "You can't expect us to allow you to be involved in that. With your Muggle toys and hallucinogens?"

"How about you let us take a stab at the planning and see how it goes?" Draco told him.

"You are all underage, and it can't be allowed." Dumbledore agreed with Snape.

Draco stood up and made for the door. Ginny stood in front of the door and blocked his exit. He was angry. She could see how angry in his eyes.

"Please suffer with me just a little longer." Ginny whispered to him, too quietly for any of the others to have heard.

"Why? Apparently they've got it covered from here. Why don't you and I just bail? Clear out our Gringott's accounts and just go." Draco knew it was going to be like this. They would be treated like children, even after explaining everything they'd gone through and done. Now they knew, they think they can take care of it, so why couldn't he and Ginny just leave? Leave Hogwarts. Leave the UK.

Ginny was less surprised at his suggestion than he thought she'd be. He saw the shock in her face for a brief moment, then sadness. "I've already run-away once Draco. I can't bring myself to do it again with out even trying to end this."

His eyes flicked between her and the door. She stepped out of his way to give him the choice. He stood there a second longer and let out a frustrated growl before pulling her close and whispered in her ear again. "We'll discuss this more later." And he stomped back off to his seat.

Ginny chewed her lip. The others had sat silently watching their interaction and all looked rather uncomfortable, even Dumbledore.

"Right. So lets pretend for a second that some of the underage people in this room may have been subjected to being in Tom Riddle's presence a time or two, and may actually be of some assistance in his downfall." Ginny continued from how she left off. Ron snickered. Ginny ignored it and went to the blackboard marked 'Deceiving Tom Riddle'. "We need him to think Draco is still on task. Which means that he had to be seen as doing something to prove he's trying to kill you." She told Dumbledore.

"Ah, yes." Dumbledore nodded, annoying Ginny. To her he was truly unhelpful.

"So I'll just ask straight out. You are obviously cursed. How long until it kills you?"

"What!?" Hermione sat up straight. Harry and Ron looked startled by that as well.

Dumbledore just closed his eyes a moment. When he opened them he smiled softly. "You are quite bright." He hesitated and Ginny rolled her eyes at Draco. He smirked at her impatience. "Perhaps a year."

"Okay." Ginny turned back to the board and wrote 'Task One- Kill Dumbledore- One year ETD.' She turned to Snape. "Who knows about this in the ranks?"

"No one knows the cause, just that he is injured." Snape answered right away, but with his usual drawl.

"And is there some kind of treatment being done to counter it?" Hermione asked the older men incredulously.

"I have been giving him a potion to slow the effects." Snape sneered at her. Even in these situations he could not mask his distaste for her.

"Perfect!" Ginny exclaimed.

"So, hypothetically, one would be able to mess with this potion, if they knew about it." Draco picked up on Ginny's train of thought.

"Hypothetically, yes." Snape agreed.

"So then, non hypothetically, what would Draco be slipping in there to incapacitate him?" Ginny asked.

"I believe Cicuta Maculata would do the trick…" Snape looked carefully between Draco and Ginny. Ginny turned to the board once more and wrote down Water Hemlock.

"I'll write home and request some from our personal stores." Draco agreed. "You will have to miss a day or two after each dose." He said to Dumbledore.

"And feign aches and such I would assume." Dumbledore agreed.

"I dare say in your weakened position, that would kill you." Snape agreed.

"You aren't actually going to poison him!" Ron burst forth.

"Of course not Ronald!" Hermione sighed. "But Mal- Draco needs to be seen as doing something. This way he won't be getting reprimanded for failing to do as he's told."

"Reprimanded?" Snape, Draco and Ginny said at the same time.

Hermione looked between the three of them, surprised. "Wouldn't he be?"

"Killed more likely." Ginny corrected her.

"It isn't all sunshine and lollipops on His side Granger. If it wasn't for Ginny I might have bled out and died over the holidays as my 'reprimand'." Draco mocked.

"You were the source of..." Snape raised his eyebrows at Ginny.

"I'm just glad he had it on him at the time."

"What?" Hermione asked. "Ginny saved you how?" She focused on Draco.

"A dragonhide vest." He told her curtly. "I was hit with a deep cutting curse and it saved me from being cut across my torso."

"I thought that was for Charlie." Harry finally spoke up. Ginny and he locked eyes and she blushed a little under his gaze.

"I never said that. Only that Charlie kept going on about them." She told him. He'd been with her when she purchased it on their last day 'together' in Hogsmeade. "I just didn't correct your assumption." As she stared into his dark green eyes, she could tell what he was thinking. That wasn't the only assumption she didn't correct. She couldn't help but bite her lip and lower her eyes.

"Moving on." Draco said to bring her out of what ever shame/reverie Harry had just sent her into. "Once the cabinet is fully functional, the Death Eaters will be able to come into the castle. That will be the time to attack the manor. When He should be with his snake."

"How will they know when it is ready?" Hermione asked him.

"Greyback is basically living at Borgin and Burkes, and there for every trial. As soon as it works, they will attack."

"Sirius and a few select Order are meeting and going over the specs for the room so they will be ready for a battle." Dumbledore told them. "We will be talking to Fred and George about your…"

"Paintball guns." Ginny smiled. "Guess they'll have to be brought into the fold completely. You know what?" Suddenly it was all entirely draining. She handed the chalk to Hermione. "I need to sit down." She sat in the empty chair and put her head in her hands with her elbows on her knees.

"Uh… are you okay?" Hermione asked her.

She growled in response and leaned back in the chair. "It's just that this time yesterday I was only worried about having to tell _one_ person, and there is honestly _so much_ to tell that I've forgotten to share certain things, and some stuff that seemed insignificant isn't." She told the room. "I need to break something." Ginny sighed to herself.

"Then perhaps we should move things along." Snape sneered.

Hermione took that as her queue to launch into all she'd learned about Horcrux's and the possibility of transferring one. She prattled on endlessly, even Snape was in a daze by the time she was done. "So what we were wondering, is if you have ever seen a Dementor administer 'the Kiss'?" Hermione posed the question to Dumbledore.

"You want me to get my soul sucked out?!" Harry yelled.

By that point Ginny, Draco and Ron had all rested back on their chairs in a daze at Hermione's endless speech. "No." Ginny said tiredly. "We want to learn how they do it." She put her hand on his arm lazily. "If we get an understanding of that, then we might figure out how to safely remove the piece of Tom from you."

"But you'd still probably pull out my soul in the process. I'd rather just die." He argued.

"Harry! No one wants that!" Hermione assured him hysterically. "We are going to find a safe way to get it out of you. I promise!" She started crying. "Don't you dare talk about dying."

"Oh great." Ron sighed. "Now you've set her off." He nudged Harry. "Go hug her. It's the only thing that'll calm her down."

Harry shifted uncomfortably and got out of his chair. Ginny snickered at him and he gave her a half-hearted scowl. She winked.

Hermione launched herself into Harry's arms and cried harder, mumbling incoherently about needing him and missing him as he awkwardly patted her back. He gave a worrying look at Ron, who shrugged.

"Anyways." Ginny said. "So, have you seen it?" She asked Dumbledore.

"I have, a few times."

"Mind tossing one of those times into the Pensive?" Dumbledore hesitated. "Need parental consent?" Ginny challenged with her eyebrow raised.

"It isn't pleasant."

"Neither is the Cruciatus Curse, but I've experienced that." Draco told him.

"In all likelihood we have a lot of unpleasantness ahead of us." Ginny told him. "We didn't expect it would be a happy experience to see."

Harry and Hermione sat back down. Hermione's face was tear stained down her cheeks, but she had calmed down. Ron took her hand.

"I want to know." Harry told the headmaster.

"Very well." Dumbledore rose and went to the Pensive, dropping in the memory.

Harry, Ron and Hermione went first with the headmaster. There was really only enough room for the four people to view a memory at a time.

"Do I really have to be here for the Potter brainstorming?" Draco complained. Ginny rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Well, what use would I be? I don't have experience with Horcrux's, and he and I don't get on. So, give me a reason."

"How about, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"Not good enough. We've discussed my reasoning for being less than enthusiastic about getting that thing out of him."

Snape sat silently observing the two of them. It amazed him to see different Draco was around her. Since his third year he'd been closing himself off, and at the start of his fifth year he'd been putting on a façade. Then he went through his little Lothario phase, which was hard to watch as well. Upon hearing of the task he had been assigned by the Dark Lord he was sure that Draco would start coming apart at the seams. But he didn't, and it was because of her.

How Dumbledore and himself had overlooked her was beyond him. The way she was able to take charge of a room and call Dumbledore on his bullshit, call Granger on her bullshit, and make Draco desist from his only-child behavior of doing and getting what he wanted, with only a few words. She was a force to be reckoned with. A nearly invisibly force.

Snape was itching to talk to Lucius about it. Why had he chosen her to give that diary to? Had he seen what they all had missed, until it was under their nose? Or was it just a coincidence?

"I'm mad at you about that actually." Ginny told Draco outright. "Clearly I'm the only one of us that can control themselves, and I'm not finding that ideal."

"You're mad at me? Ginny, this whole situation is fucked up! And I can too control myself."

"I'm well aware of how fucked up this is!" Ginny said loudly as the group came out of the Pensive. They all looked shaken, Harry especially. "Are you guys okay?" She asked them.

"We are not involving Dementors." Ron stated and sat down.

Hermione and Harry were right behind him in finding their seats.

"Next?" Dumbledore asked.

Draco and Ginny exchanged a look. "I don't need to see it." Draco said and crossed his arms.

Ginny stood and went to the Pensive. Snape seemed to have decided that he had no need to see it either.

Dumbledore regarded her for a moment and pulled the memory from his temple and dropped it into the silvery pool. Ginny fell into it.

When she landed she was standing in front of a crumpled down shack with Dumbledore beside her. It took her a moment to take in her surroundings and realize there were not one, but two Dumbledore's beside her. There was not a single Dementor in sight. It was actually a bright and warm day. She was standing on an overgrown path that led to the shack, and looked between the two Dumbledore's. They were both regarding the shack wearily.

"This has nothing to do with Dementors, does it." She said turning back to the shack.

"I wanted you to see my discovery of the Horcrux." One of the Dumbledore's told her, as the other raised his wand and cast several complicated curse breaking spells. Some she recognized from Bill's old text books.

"This is where you found the ring?"

"Yes. We are in Little Hangleton, where both Tom Riddle's parents grew up."

"Why? Because I destroyed the others, I had to see this one too?"

"You are a very intelligent and capable witch Ginevra. And you question my decisions." She turned to the Dumbledore that was speaking to her and furrowed her brow. He continued. "That is a very good thing. I do make bad choices every now and then, and someone should question them. I am not infallible, clearly." He gestured to his withered hand. "I think you would be the best person to know exactly what happened, and why."

The memory Dumbledore moved forwards to the shack and continued casting revealing spells. Ginny was surprised at how protected the shack was, considering the other ones, save for the Cup, she'd essentially stumbled upon.

"The ring had been in the Slytherin line for generations and generations. The Gaunt's were the last of the line. Now Riddle is the last."

Ginny shivered. "Draco and Harry have told me what he looks like now. Let's hope he doesn't try for another generation."

Dumbledore let out a chuckle. "Yes, let's hope." They moved forward with his memory self. "The Riddle's lived over that hill." He gestured. "I had been searching for memories of interactions with Tom and his relatives since he came back. That is what I'd been meeting with Harry about this year."

"And how did you find out about the Horcrux's?"

"I suspected it after the Quirrell incident, you have no doubt heard tell of."

Ginny nodded, choosing to refrain from telling him that was what first made her question his judgement.

"Then, when he came back fully, I started looking harder. And then I found this." The door to the shack was now open, and the three entered. "I had been searching another spot Tom had visited in his childhood, but over the holidays discovered that was no longer necessary through word of a House Elf."

Ginny gave him a surprised look, then fingered her necklace on impulse.

"Yes. Kreacher told us the tale of the locket. You see, it was not left at the Black family home by Riddle. Sirius' younger brother Regulus lost his life in the search to destroy Voldemort. Kreacher was with him when he died after getting the locket, and using the powerful Elven magic managed to escape and brought it back to Grimmauld Place."

"Ah!" The memory Dumbledore was prying up a floorboard.

"Please pay special attention here." Present Dumbledore told her.

A golden box was brought up and carefully opened. Ginny peered down curiously at the ring inside the box. There was a stone on it that was not part of the destroyed Horcrux. Memory Dumbledore sucked in a breath and drew Ginny's attention to his face.

Wonderment, sadness, excitement and trepidation. Like he couldn't decide how he felt, then a single tear escaped his eye. She looked back at the ring and noticed a marking on it. A triangle with a line through it and a circle inside. A cold shiver ran through her.

She recognized the sign of Grindewald, or the Deathly Hallows as Luna's dad had told her last summer, vehemently denying his affiliation to Grindewald when she saw his necklace of the same symbol.

"No!" She stood up straight and faced the present Dumbledore. "You have got to be shitting me!" The scene around her seemed frozen. His periwinkle eyes looked so remorseful.

"The memory I had received of the ring was not detailed enough to show me the symbol. When I saw it… I so longed to see the sister I lost. I did not, in my amazed state, think to check for further curses." The scene resumed and memory Dumbledore hastily put the ring on and instantly screamed in agony before struggling to pull the ring off.

"The Resurrection Stone?" Ginny said, astounded as she watched the rapid blackening of memory Dumbledore's hand. "Why the hell are you showing me this?"

"For years I was foolish. Believing in prophesy, letting a foretelling dictate how to proceed. But, in one simple beratement you managed to show me how misguided that was. The Hall of Prophesy is literally filled to the brim with unfulfilled prophesies. You have been silently working behind the scenes to bring down Tom Riddle, and managed to keep it to yourself." The memory faded away around them and they were now simply surrounded by a grey mist. "I had felt I would be telling this to Harry, as he had one of the others."

"Others? One of the other Deathly Hallow's?" Ginny asked. "The Invisibility Cloak…" She whispered. He nodded. She looked down at his wand. "And, when you defeated Grindewald." Dumbledore lifted his wand and twirled it through the fingers in his good hand. "What did you do with the stone?"

"I wasn't quite sure what I should do with it. Until yesterday." He pulled a pendant out of his cloak pocket. "For your necklace." Gently he reached up and unclasped her necklace, giving her time to stop him. But she was in shock. He added the stone to her necklace and replaced it on her neck. "A very smart rune to be wearing." Dumbledore commented on the only other pendant left on the chain.

"A gift from Draco." She whispered, still in shock.

He nodded. "I believe we have been gone too long." Dumbledore pulled them both out of the Pensive.

 **AN- One of my reviewers asked when I would update next. I try to add a chapter every week.**

 **Has anyone reading this seen The Potted Potter? So freaking funny. I was laughing so hard. It's hardly about the wonderful world of Harry Potter that we all love, but it's completely brilliant.**


	22. Chapter 22

Ginny stood where she landed and Dumbledore made his way back to his desk.

"Ginny?" Hermione called her attention. Ginny looked at her and blinked, not seeing.

"Maybe we should give her chocolate?" Ron said. "She's never been around Dementor's before, like us."

Snape stood and pressed a chunk of chocolate in her hand. She looked down at it blankly. He then guided her to her chair. She sat numbly and bit off a piece of chocolate and let it melt on her tongue.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

She looked over at him. His face was in focus. 'He has a Deathly Hallow.' She thought as she stared into his eyes. 'I have a Deathly Hallow.' She looked over to Dumbledore. 'The Deathly Hallow's are real.'

"What did you show her?" Draco's voice rang out. "Clearly it wasn't a Dementor's Kiss. She wouldn't be reacting like this if it was."

She managed to swallow the chocolate in her mouth. "I'm fine." She said. "I'm fine." She looked back at the blackboards. "Where are we at?"

All but Dumbledore stared at her a moment longer. "We have come to the end of our discussion for today." Dumbledore said. "Shall we all take tomorrow to think over everything and do our research?" He eyed Hermione. Her face flushed with excitement. "The five of you are scheduled for detention on Monday night, here."

Hermione pulled Ron and Harry to their feet and yanked them to the door. Draco stood and waited for Ginny to stand also. She looked up at him as he held his hand out. She took it.

"The room?" He asked.

She shook her head 'no'. "Just some empty classroom. Somewhere with a window."

He nodded, eyeing her curiously before tapping her head with his wand and disillusioning her. "Professors." He nodded to them and felt for her hand, guiding her out.

The Golden Trio were no where to be seen when they came out the other side of the gargoyle. Draco led her down the hall and around a few corridors until she was all turned around. "Where are we?"

"Close to the Divination classroom." He replied and led her into an abandoned classroom.

She snorted. "You took Divination? You never told me that." He trailed his hand up her arm and tapped the top of her head again to remove the spell.

He rolled his eyes and gave a half smile. "Of course I didn't. It is entirely un-cool." She chuckled. "What did he show you?"

She went over to the window and pressed her forehead against the cool glass. "He showed me the memory of his finding the other horcrux."

"Was it really that bad?"

She tilted her head to the side slightly so she could see him. "It was well protected by curses, all but one of which he took care of with relative ease. The last one, the one that is killing him. I don't think Tom even understands what he did there."

"Do you? Does Dumbledore?"

"Yes." She looked back out the window. There was no one outside, but the grounds and forest looked like a Christmas card, it had a nice calming effect.

"What was the curse?"

"Temptation, I guess, would be the best way to put it."

"Ew. Do I want to know more?" Draco smiled.

Ginny cringed and shivered at his inference. "Gross. Draco!" She pulled back from the glass and gave him a look.

"What kind of temptation then? Wishes? Riches?"

Ginny didn't know if she should tell him. The Deathly Hallow's were incredibly important and powerful objects, she couldn't believe how Dumbledore had just handed one over to her. Would Draco even believe her? It wasn't like she had a deceased friend or loved one that she would call back from the dead, and so far as she knew, neither did Draco. "I think I need to sleep on this one." She told him.

He crinkled his forehead in confusion. "Sleep on it? We've told each other everything. Now you want to keep something important from me?" He came back from the wall to stand up straight. "What could possibly be so big that you can't tell me? Did he kill someone? Because if he took down a Death Eater, then I can't say I'd be bothered."

"No, he didn't kill someone."

"Then what?" He asked, getting angry.

"Draco. I just need to think on it." She told him firmly, not able to keep the agitation from her voice.

"Fine. You think on it." He bit. "I guess I have to go and send an owl to the manor. See you Monday." He stomped out of the room.

Ginny stared at his retreating back and couldn't find the energy to stop him. Or a reason. He'd shown her hints of his 'Only-Child Syndrome' before, she could have predicted he'd react that way had she had time to think about it.

There were a few chairs close to where she stood and she transfigured them into a large armchair and sat down. It wasn't a perfect transfiguration. There wasn't enough stuffing to be truly comfortable, but it would do. She looked down at the stone on her necklace and traced the symbol there.

Perhaps Dumbledore was thinking along the same lines as what he'd done with the Philosophers Stone. She had it because she had no need to use it.

Also, she could keep a secret and Tom was essentially after of everyone in that office, she was the only one who he basically knew nothing of. Dumbledore had said it was because she questioned his choices. And he did know her loyalty was not with the Dark side.

Harry had the Invisibility Cloak. He had said it belonged to his father, and they weren't known to last for generations. Or years even, so it was believable. Had Harry even heard of Beedle the Bard? It wasn't a Muggle bedtime story.

And Dumbledore had the Elder Wand. Of course he did. He was supposed to be the most powerful wizard of their time.

All of the three fabled items were at Hogwarts.

Ginny let out a groan. "Why? Why would he tell me this?" She had finally shared her story, let out all of her secrets. The burden of what to do from here on out was now on several shoulders. Hermione and Snape were working on how to get the Horcrux out of Harry. Draco now knew how to make it look like he was trying to kill Dumbledore, who was already dying anyways, and the Order was working on infiltrating Malfoy Manor.

All that had a deadline. Once it was done, it was done.

If the wrong person found out about this it could get her killed. Dumbledore may have had the Elder Wand for more that fifty years, but he was feared and powerful. She couldn't properly transfigure a chair. Sure, he was dying and wanted to tell his secret to someone that he'd been hiding for more than half a century, but why did it have to be her? Yesterday he'd been about to call her parents because she was underage.

()()()()()()()()()

Hermione handed Harry more chocolate. "Maybe you should go for a fly?" She suggested. "You've been in a state all day."

"Gee, I wonder why?" He said sarcastically.

"It's probably the Horcrux." Luna said.

The trio had made their way back to the library to find Neville and Luna. Hermione and Ron had recovered from the horrifying sight of someone having their soul sucked out, obviously Harry was having a harder time with it.

"You think the Horcrux affects his mood?" Hermione asked her.

"Why wouldn't it? It corrupted my feelings, and Ginny's feelings. Why wouldn't it make his dark moods darker?" She reasoned.

"Makes sense." Ron said. "Always did brood about longer than the rest of us." The four of them observed him curiously.

"Okay, you can stop staring at me now." Harry grumbled.

"I think we should perform the Gutor ceremony." Luna said with a dreamy smile. "We will clean a room, decorate it with noodle soup and dance around him with torches to call out the evil." She said it so matter for factly that they all stared at her now.

"Noodle soup you say?" Ron tried not to laugh.

Hermione sighed. "That actually _is_ what the Buddists do to start off the new year. I think it's going to be a little more involved than that to get it out of him."

"Noodle soup?" Ron said incredulously this time.

Hermione shrugged. "It's a religion Ron. It may seem weird to us, but every religion has aspects that seem odd to outsiders. You would probably be horrified at the thought of fasting for Ramadan."

"What Ramadan?" Neville asked.

"Its Muslim. They fast during daylight hours for a month."

"A month?!" Ron asked loudly.

"See? Horrified." Hermione gave him a pointed look. "And that isn't even that odd. It's pretty common actually."

"There's another ritual. We would only need scissors, a chair, string and a small mirror." Luna said chipperly.

Harry sat there listening to them discuss religious rituals and exorcisms back and forth while he stewed on it all. Some of their ideas could potentially kill him. It was like they forgot he was there, and a person. But he felt helpless and angry. Maybe his moods were being affected by the Horcrux. Maybe that was why his dark moods were so much darker then everyone else's seemed to be.

He remembered Luna's expression when they stopped holding hands last night. Like sinking into a warm bath. And every time he and Ginny pulled back from their activities she had such a satisfied look come over her face. Now he knew it was actually relief from not touching him, not because it had felt good when she _did_ touch him.

Now he was in a worse mood.

He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair scowling. He had enjoyed sitting and chatting with Sirius that morning. But as soon as he left Harry couldn't help but think over how bad his life had been. He'd been neglected all of his childhood, and treated like a slave, then sent into this wonderful magical place he could have only dreamed existed, just to have people trying to kill him at every turn. Not only just people. Dobby had a good crack at that in his second year too.

Ron and Hermione had been great, and Sirius. But he'd always felt a little repressed. Withdrawn from their natural states of joy, or humor. Thinking back, it was somewhere around his turning fifteen that his mood swings started getting more drastic. He'd chalked it up to hormones, but maybe it was the Horcrux. He needed it out. Then he needed to kill Tom freaking Riddle for ruining his life.

Harry grabbed a book off the pile on the table and got to reading.

()()()()()()()

Ginny spent Sunday by herself. She had gone to her dorm to sleep the previous night, but woke up early, before Hermione, and went to the kitchen to stock up on food for the day, then to the library to get Tales of Beedle the Bard and went to the empty office she'd been dragged into by Draco a few days before.

She read the Tale of the Three Brothers over and over again. When she got tired of reading it, she switched to her assignments.

Near lunch time she went back to the library and got another book, Fables and Fairie Tales: Myth, Legend, or Truth? Once she was done with that she went to get another book on Theories of Fabled Objects- How would they work if they existed.

She'd managed to dodge the Horcrux study group in the library. She didn't want to talk to anyone, it would take too much effort, and she was exhausted with people.

She would read the sections on the the Deathly Hallow's and stare at the Resurrection Stone. The theories on calling the deceased obviously sounded ridiculous. This whole situation was ridiculous. But it was all giving her an idea of what she might be able to do. Dumbledore had probably had the same idea, but his desire to see his deceased loved on was too strong.

She snuck back into her room before curfew and put up her privacy charms.

Again on Monday she snuck out before her dorm mates awoke. She already had 'detention' tonight. She'd apologize to her professors and hand in her assignments tomorrow. Today she was going to keep on thinking and theorizing.

It was shortly after lunch would have wrapped up in the Great Hall that the office door opened and Harry came in.

She was leaning back in the chair with her feet crossed on top of the desk and a book open in her lap. For a minute they just stared at each other.

"Hiding?" Harry asked.

"Yes." She answered honestly.

He pulled a chair from the corner and sat across the desk from her. "If any of the Professors ask tomorrow, tell them you were 'under the weather'." He said glumly.

"Thanks." They sat silently, observing each other. She nudged the copy of Beedle the Bard to Harry. "Read the Tale of the Three Brothers."

He gave her a curious look, then picked up the book and flipped through the stories to the fable. She watched him reading it. His face betrayed no emotion as he flipped the pages. "That was depressing." He summarized.

"It is."

"So, the moral of the story is 'be careful what you wish for." He said putting the book on the desk and nudging it back to her.

Ginny nodded. "Which one would you want?"

Harry took a moment to think about it. "The wand would be helpful, but probably get me killed. The cloak I wouldn't need, because I already have one like it. So I would probably want the stone. Not forever though. Just to see my parents again, if only for a few hours."

Ginny thought about that, and what it must be like for him. They hadn't ever discussed his parents when they spent time together, it had always been light conversations. But, of course that would be what he would want most, just the chance to get to know his mum and dad. She felt her nose stinging with emotion at that. She didn't want to let out any tears. If she didn't have her parents she would say the same thing too. "You wouldn't want the most powerful wand known to wizard kind?"

He shook his head. "You are either a powerful wizard, or you aren't. If your wand is matched properly then it won't make that much of a difference, would it?"

She understood his reasoning, and agreed with him. "And if you didn't have your Invisibility Cloak?"

"It has given me a lot of adventures over the years, and it is my most cherished possession, but for an hour with my parents? I would give it up." He said honestly.

"Harry. I want to try something. Do you trust me?" She asked carefully. He nodded slowly.

She let her legs down from the desk and walked around it to his side. She took another chair from against the wall and moved it beside him. From her bag she pulled out a pen. She flicked her wand at the office door to lock it before sitting beside him.

Ginny took his hand and held the pen in between their clasped hands.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Fine. What am I supposed to feel?"

"Harry. I am going to get you angry. And I need you to not let go of my hand. Now, close your eyes."

"But… why?"

She licked her lips nervously. He had to try and bring the Horcrux to the surface. "Do you remember what it felt like when you were in the mind of the snake?"

"Um… blood thirsty? Angry? Determined."

"Have there been any more times that you were linked with Voldemort? Andy other visions you shared?"

"Before my fourth year. I was the snake then too. I killed someone."

"How did it feel to kill someone?" Ginny was focusing on his face. His eye's popped open at the question.

"How did it feel to kill someone? I wasn't the one to kill someone. I was horrified by what I was seeing!"

"How did the snake feel?" Harry was starting to look angry. Ginny was starting to feel angry too. It hadn't ever happened that fast before. Harry's emotions must project it too. "Close your eyes Harry."

He actually snarled at her, but closed his eyes. "It felt… devious, and proud. Sinking its teeth into the flesh." There was a malicious satisfied smile ghosting on Harry's face.

Ginny reached for her necklace and held the Resurrection stone tight in her fist, turning her fist over a few times. If a Horcrux was a piece of soul, and the Ressurection Stone called out souls, then if the theories on it were correct, then she might be able to transfer the soul out of him and into an object. He would need to bring the soul to the surface, and that would require him to feel the blood lust that the soul desires.

She had done some cursory research on the possibility of transferring the piece of Horcrux soul after she'd destroyed Ravenclaws Diadem. That had been an important piece of history, and now it was just partially melted metal. If this worked, she would need intense concentration. There was no way that she wanted the piece of Tom to continue the transfer to her, she had to focus on calling it out and transferring it into the pen.

"The skin is tough to pierce through at first, but then the blood just gushes up." He continued. He started shivering a bit.

Ginny focused all of her anger on the pen in their hands. She silently called for the soul to be moved from its host into the pen. Harry started trembling more.

"It happened fast, but slow at the same time. I can see everything that happened in that instant just slow right down." The pen started getting hot as the stone vibrated slightly, and Harry's words were getting less malicious and more like a simple play by play. He didn't seem to be shaking any more, but their hands were.

Then the pen was the only thing shaking them. She let go of the stone, and pulled her hand from Harry's. His eyes opened.

"What is all this about?"

Ginny clenched her jaw and took the pen that had remained in Harry's hand away and lay it on the desk.

The instant she removed it his eyes got a shade lighter. His facial muscles relaxed. His shoulders sagged slightly, and he let out a deep relaxed breath. He sagged back against the chair.

She clasped Harry's hand again. She wanted to be sure it was gone from him, and that his soul remained in tact.

A lazy smile came over his face. "I feel wonderful." He said in a daze. "What? How? What did you just do?"

"I'll tell you in a bit. Describe how you feel right now."

"Like a weight that had been pressing on me was lifted off. Like I just sunk into a bath." He blinked a few times at her with astonishment on his face. "That's what I thought about how you and Luna looked when I stopped touching you! Ginny!" He stood up and pulled her with him. She made sure not to let go of his hand. "You got rid of it?!"

"Maybe." She smiled softly and raised their clasped hands. "We will know better in a few minutes."

He looked from her face to their hands, to the desk where the pen was. "It's in there?"

"If I did it right, then yes."

He let out a maniacal laugh and pulled her into an awkward one-armed hug. "I've never felt so good before. Not when I first flew on a broom. Not when you kissed me for the first time. Not even my first trip to Diagon Alley when I found out it was all true! This is what other people feel like all the time? It's amazing." Harry's eyes were wild. His grin was so wide and endearing.

Ginny couldn't help but giggle at his exuberance. "Sit down would you?" She smiled. "I have a theory on that. As someone who's dealt with her fair share of horcruxes. I think the exuberance wears off a bit after you lose contact with it for an extended period of time. I can't remember if I was as Laisse-faire about everything before getting the diary dealt with, but I certainly am good a shoving the bad things to the back of my mind to be dealt with later. And nothing seems quite so bad as others around me seem to be making them out to be."

"You know how Hermione is always saying 'It's going to be okay, Harry.'" He put on a mocking voice. "That always drove me bonkers. But now. I feel like its possible! Anything is possible!"

Ginny laughed. "It's like you are on drugs."

"And how are you feeling? No need to get away from me?" He asked quickly, but his bright eyes weren't relaying the concern the question would have had a few moments ago.

She shook her head. "No bad feelings yet. No disgust."

"Fantastic!" He almost shouted.

"Alright. Calm down there a bit. We're going to keep holding hands a while longer. I want to be sure."

"Hey no problem. I'm up for more than that if you are." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Oh geez. Now we discover that underneath the Horcrux you are just like Sirius."

"Hey, I'm all for that. He was just like my dad apparently, and my dad was pretty cool, from what I understand."

For two hours Ginny and Harry sat holding hands and chatting. His exuberance didn't seem to be wearing off, but considering how long the Horcrux was part of him, that wasn't very surprising.

"I think it is safe to say that the Horcrux is gone." Ginny said.

"I think you should stay with me tonight, just to make sure." Harry suggested.

Ginny groaned. "I thought I was removing a monster. Not creating one!"

He just grinned at her and kissed the back of her hand. "You are amazing!"

"Yeah, yeah. I've been getting that a lot lately." She said wryly. She made a face. "Now I'm going to touch the pen and make sure that it is the Horcrux, and I didn't accidentally dispel it somewhere else."

"So, since you are going to be in a mood anyways, can you tell me now?" He asked.

She'd instated a 'happy conversation only' rule while they were touching. She didn't want any of her own emotions clouding any possible 'Horcrux' type feelings.

Ginny grabbed the pen. "So, I took all these books from the library to research something Dumbledore gave me two days ago. Try and see how it worked. All in theory though, since these authors had no way to prove it. I read and reread the Tale of the Three Brothers and came up with my own theories on how to make it work. See. The Resurrection Stone recalls displaced souls." She let that sink in after she said it.

Harry still had a twinkle in his eye as his mouth dropped open. "Resurrection Stone? It's real?"

She nodded. "And I thought that if the piece of soul could be drawn into you, then something that calls to displaced souls should be able to bring it out of you. But I wanted to try and bring it to the surface first. That was why I touched you, and tried to get you to think about your link to him."

"How would it go into the pen?"

"I just really focused on it. Thinking about sending it there. Thinking about Tom as I knew him."

The pen was darker than it had been. Ginny wasn't particularly angry or anything yet, but it had only been a few minutes.

"So… displaced spirits? Do the souls have to go into something?"

"I don't know." She told him. "I know you want to see your parents. And I want that for you too. But I don't know how it works. I do know, however, that your cloak _is_ the one from the story."

Harry's look of wonderment grew. "Passed down from father to son." He whispered.

"Yes."

"And the Elder wand?" The Death stick?"

"Think Harry. Think really hard." She rolled her eyes.

"Dumbledore? How? When?"

"Gellert Grindewald. They battled in the 40's. Dumbledore's defeat of him was legendary. I'm assuming that was when he took possession of it. But Harry, I wouldn't share this information with anyone."

"Anyone? Not even Ron and Hermione?" Ginny chewed her lip and fidgeted a bit.

"Its dangerous. And ridiculous. People have died over these. I know you trust them. But…" She started feeling snippy. "Talking about it. Telling anyone. If word got out. Even accidentally." She gritted her teeth. "Obviously it is a good thing that I had the stone. But it would be bad if people knew it actually existed."

"But Ron and Hermione wouldn't tell."

Ginny scoffed. "Ron needed a compulsion charm to stop from announcing to the whole school about my relationship with Draco. Which could have gotten us both killed."

Harry leaned toward her slowly and gently removed the pen from her hand.

She smiled sheepishly at him as she relaxed. "Well, I guess that answers that."

"So, you didn't tell Malfoy?"

"No. He was pretty pissed that I didn't tell him too. Haven't seen him since just after you lot left the office."

Harry hummed in response. "How are we going to explain this then?" He pointed to the pen smiling.

"Well. I suppose they'll want more proof than your smiling face. So, I guess we'll take it to Dumbledore's office for our 'detention'. I'll bring the Basilisk Venom and we can let them all watch as it's destroyed."

"Wicked." Ginny shook her head at him. He was like a whole new person. "Think I should pretend to be miserable again and surprise them?" Harry asked, smiling with a twinkle in his eye now.

()()()()()()()

Harry didn't ask about using the stone, and Ginny wasn't gong to offer until he leveled out his feelings. He was practically bouncing off the walls all afternoon. She'd brought plenty of food with her that morning, so she and Harry stayed in the office rather than going down to the Great hall for dinner.

Once they figured the majority of the school would be eating they went back to Gryffindor Tower so she could get the Venom from her trunk, then headed to the headmasters office. They were the last one's there.

"Harry!" Hermione cried when they entered the room. "I was so worried!"

"Don't be." Harry shrugged solemnly.

"Miss Weasley. I trust you are feeling better?" Dumbledore asked her.

"I've felt worse." She said plainly and took a seat.

Luna and Neville were there, on the other side of Ron and Hermione. Ginny sat next to Draco. He was still looking surly.

"Where shall we start off?" Dumbledore asked.

"The Dark Lord knows of Draco's plan to poison you slowly, and he approves." Snape told Dumbledore.

"I received the water hemlock last night." Draco said. "When do you take the potion next?"

"Two days." Dumbledore told him. "I think I may be bedridden on Thursday. That will be a good time to check the progress that the Order is making with their tactical approach to Malfoy Manor."

"I've been researching how to get rid of the Horcrux, and there are several options." Hermione started carefully, waiting for Harry's response.

"Don't bother." Harry said. All eyes turned to Harry then, except Dumbledore, who looked to Ginny. She was failing in her attempt to glare at him. The corners of her mouth kept turning up.

"Harry mate! We won't stop until we've found a way!" Ron told him.

"Yes. We can do it. Don't give up." Hermione said.

"Ready?" Harry asked Ginny.

"Think I need a cauldron or something. I don't want to ruin his desk."

"What?" Neville and Ron asked.

Dumbledore conjured a bowl. Ginny pulled out a pen and put it in. "A pen?" Dumbledore asked surprised.

"It was all I had on me. And it's a Muggle item." She grinned and pulled out the Basilisk Venom. Everyone was silent as she dropped one drop on the pen.

The black, billowy smoke came out of it, just as Ginny expected. "Ginevra!" It screamed in Tom Riddle's voice. "This isn't going to-" She dropped the rest of the eye dropper full on the pen and the smoke quickly dissipated. This wasn't the first time phantom Tom Riddle had popped up in front of her when she was killing off a piece of him. She'd been expecting it, so it didn't slow her down.

"What was that?" Neville asked.

"That was Harry's Horcrux." Dumbledore said. "When they are destroyed it would seem they act very much like a Boggart."

"My Boggart is Tom Riddle, telling me everything I've done is for naught." Ginny said to them.

"How? How did you do it?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked her dead in the eye, with the most serious expression he could muster. "Noodle Soup."

Ginny was the first to break, followed by Ron. Harry had told her about the theories being thrown around in the library. Neville and Hermione joined in to their laughter. "But seriously. We can't tell you that." Harry beamed at Hermione. "But we can do this!" He jumped up and took the chalk to the first blackboard with the brainstorming on how to destroy Harry's Horcrux and marked an 'X' through it.

Then he wrote 'Suck it Tommy boy' in a blank space.

"Um. Yeah. Harry's experiencing some rather strong emotions now that the Horcrux is gone." Ginny told them.

"I feel great!" Harry smiled.

"Not sure if or when it'll wear off." Ginny continued. "He's been like this all afternoon."

"Perhaps a calming draught?" Snape offered with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, let the him be happy." Dumbledore said. "In fact. Harry? Would you enjoy a trip to Grimmauld Place? I think there is someone else that would very much appreciate seeing you in this condition." He offered.

"Can Ron and Hermione come too? And Ginny." Harry turned to Ginny. "Ginny, you have to come with us." Harry grabbed her hand.

"There is a chance that Molly and Arthur will be there." Dumbledore said.

Ginny pulled her hand back at that and the smile fell off her face. "How much do they know?" She asked the headmaster.

He raised his hand slightly in defense. "I have not told them of your involvement. That is for you to decide. At least for the next little while. But they will need to know soon."

"How about after we get rid of Tom for good? Otherwise they'll lock me up and throw away the key." Ginny said.

Ron snickered. "Probably would too."

"Yeah, I'm going to stay here." Ginny said. "You guys go have fun. Celebrate."

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He went to the fireplace and took a handful of Floo Powder and shot off to the Order Headquarters.

"It's like he's on Ecstasy." Hermione said.

"He is very much 'in ecstasy' right now." Ginny said. "He's been in a dark place for fifteen years. Now he's free. It was amazing he could manage to be happy at all while he had the Horcrux in him."

Hermione looked at her properly. "Thank you. He's… like my brother."

Ron got up and pulled Ginny into a hug. "You are something special."

"Just all encompassing of the best parts of all my brothers." She said poking him in the ribs. "Now, go after him. And don't give him any sugar." Ron and Hermione took off in a swirl of green flames.

"Should Luna and I go?" Neville asked awkwardly.

"Is there really any more that can be discussed right now?" Snape asked Dumbledore.

"I don't believe so. Mister Malfoy, I would like updates on your progress with the cabinet weekly at least." Dumbledore told him.

Draco nodded and stood to leave. He caught Ginny's eye for only a second, hastily looking away, then left followed by Snape.

"Can you guys wait for me in the corridor?" Ginny asked Neville and Luna. "I only need a minute."

"Sure, no problem." Neville smiled at her.

"You did an excellent job. And much quicker than I had anticipated." Dumbledore told her after her friends had closed the door. He looked quite proud of her.

"You knew the stone could draw out the Horcrux?" She asked angrily.

"I had my suspicions." He smiled softly.

"And instead of telling me, or Harry, you decided to see if I could figure it out by myself? No hint or anything. Just 'here's this legendary item, see what you can make of it.' How long were you going to wait to see if I could put two and two together?"

"I am sorry for not telling you." The old man inclined his head slightly.

"You seem it." Ginny cut in. He didn't have the grace at the moment to look like he accepted her attempt to scold him. He was still too relieved that the Horcrux had been dealt with.

"But." He continued. "I could not have done it myself. My desire to see a lost loved one is too great."

"That is no excuse for not even telling me." She rose from her chair. "Do you want it back?"

He hesitated with his eye on the stone, before answering. "No."

"Then, good day sir." She gave him an angry, mock, salute.

()()()()()()()

Harry barreled into Grimmauld Place and didn't bother wiping the soot off of himself before running into the kitchen, where it was most likely to find Sirius, and anyone else that may have been there. The inhabitants of the kitchen all jumped when the door burst open, several drew their wands.

"Sirius!" Harry beamed.

"Harry? Are you alright? What's wrong?" Sirius jumped up and rushed over to him.

Harry pulled him into a hug. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I feel great!"

Sirius pulled back from the hug and gave him a weary look. "Has someone given you something? You're not yourself."

"Au Contrair, mon amie. French. I am completely _myself._ You see, no one has _given_ me anything. But something has been _taken away_." Harry's eyes danced.

Sirius' worried expression dropped and he searched Harry's face for any sign of deception. "T-taken away? You're completely yourself? You're sure?!"

"Yep. Just ask Dumbledore. Or Snape!" Ron and Hermione walked in. "Or ask them! They know!"

"Is it true?" Sirius begged them.

Hermione smiled. "It's true." Ron told him.

"Well, this calls for a celebration!" Sirius shouted. "Kreacher."

"What's going on?"

Harry finally looked at the other occupants of the kitchen. Remus had asked the question. He was still standing at the table, Tonks was beside him with bubblegum pink hair, and Fred and George were on the opposite side of the table with very amused expressions.

"What's going on is, we're celebrating!" Sirius said again. "Kreacher."

Crack.

"Master called?"

"Firewhiskey." Sirius barked at him.

Hermione clucked her tongue at the tone he used with the House Elf. "Harry probably shouldn't have any. Apparently he's been… like this since… it happened, a few hours ago." She wasn't sure how much the rest of the room knew about his situation.

"Thought you two saw it?"

"We saw it destroyed. We weren't there for the… ritual?" Ron said, questioning what the name of it would be.

"Dumbledore figured it out then?" Sirius smiled and grabbed glasses.

"Nope." Harry smiled. "It was Noodle Soup!" He, Ron and Hermione laughed.

"No." Hermione didn't bother explaining Harry's comment. "It was… you know… the other person." She didn't want to say Ginny's name.

Sirius dropped one of the glasses at the information and froze, looking at them with wide eyes. "What? what..wow. Just… wow."

"Care to speak more cryptically?" Fred said.

"Yeah, drop some more hints why don't you?" George picked up.

"I have no idea what's going on." Tonks said. "But it's great to see Harry so happy."

"And it's great to see you and Remus together!" Harry shoved her down the bench seat with his hip as he slid in beside her. "Is that a ring on your finger! What are we going to call you once you're a Lupin?" Harry asked giddily.

"You're engaged?" Hermione squealed.

Tonks hair turned red. "We hadn't told anyone yet."

Kreacher finally came back with the firewhiskey. "Took you long enough." Sirius said snatching the liquor from him.

"Please be nicer to him." Hermione scolded.

Sirius ignored her. "Been pestering Remus for months about this." Sirius told everyone. "You two love each other and this is marvelous." He grinned and handed Remus and Tonks a glass of firewhiskey first.

"Thank you." Tonks said.

Hermione took her hand to see the ring better. "It's gorgeous." Sirius set a drink down in front of Harry and Hermione picked it up. "He's already acting drunk. I really don't think he needs this."

"Hermione, come on. What harm could it do?" Ron argued.

"Yeah. Come on, Mom." Harry teased.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry for that. "I am not cleaning anything up." She said through gritted teeth and set the glass back in front of him.

"Right. Well congratulations to Remus and Tonks, but what the hell is going on with Harry?" George asked.

"How much do they know?" Harry asked Sirius.

"Erm… not about that whole deal." Sirius gave him a sideways smile.

"Then lets just say there was something making me a miserable sod for the last fifteen years, and it's gone now." Harry said and clinked his glass with George's before taking a big drink. He sputtered and coughed as soon as he managed to swallow. "Oh God!"

Everyone laughed at him.

"So there was some sort of curse or something on you for fifteen years?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, we can call it a curse." Harry managed.

"And, someone who isn't Dumbledore took it off of you." Fred said.

"Should we maybe just tell them?" Ron asked.

"Ron! We don't have permission. And I am certainly not betraying…" She cut herself off before giving any more away.

Harry's eyes went wide. "Oh no. No. I won't be betraying either. Not doing anything to jeopardize. Especially after what… that person did for me today."

Ron looked confused for a moment, not quite getting why Harry was so vehemently against it, since it was his story. But then he remembered, and blushed. "Right. Okay." He nodded and sipped his drink. Harry still had a thing for Ginny, or course he wouldn't want to push her away with giving out her secrets.

"Hey! Ron's under age." Hermione scolded Sirius. She hadn't noticed that Ron was given the drink.

Sirius gave her a false surprised look and shrugged. "Whoops. Too late now."

"So then, this is Harry? Uncursed." Fred asked.

"Maybe" Hermione said, while Harry just smiled. "The thought right now is that he's in a euphoric state after being basically repressed for so long. His emotions may level out over time."

"So what are you two doing here?" Ron asked the twins.

"Showcasing our latest creation!" George pulled out a paintball gun. "One hit with one of these babies and you'll be knocked out for four hours." He beamed.

"You did it? Brilliant!" Harry reached across the table to grab it. "You tried it out on each other?"

"How do you know about it?" George asked him suspiciously.

"Where did you got the idea from?" Harry said with mock suspicion back.

"Did the place we got the idea from have anything to do with how you managed to be so happy right now?"

"Whoa, that is a loaded question. Please don't pry any more into how he got this happy." Sirius chuckled in innuendo.

"Hey!" Harry, Fred and George did not appreciate Sirius' comment. They saw fit to move right past their assumptions on who knew what from whom, and how.

"We tried it out on each other, yeah." George continued. "Knocked Fred out for about four hours."

"Then I woke up and hit him twice. He was out for six hours."

"I love this idea." Harry chuckled. "Using Muggle items to bring down Death Eaters."

Fred chuckled along with him. "Ginny's a genius."

"This was Ginny's idea?" Remus asked the twins.

All but Remus and Tonks took a great interest in the liquid in their glass at that point.

 **AN- I've had a few reviews saying that things are a little too easy for Ginny. Like maybe she shouldn't be rolling with the punches so much. If you think she should be having an emotional break down after every bump in the road, might I suggest giving every other story about her a try?**

 **Does anyone know someone who takes Ritalin? I do. Every time they take Ritalin for an extended period of time, then take a few days off, those days off they are literally bouncing off the walls. I am equating the ridding of the Horcrux to no longer taking Ritalin after 15 years of taking Ritalin.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Dislaimer- Sorry guys, this chapter mostly deals in relationship stuff.**

Ron and Harry did not make it to their morning classes on Tuesday, and Ginny had no idea when Hermione made it back to the dorm room, but she did have to be the one to wake her up in the morning or breakfast.

After Lavender and Parvati left the dorm room Hermione told her about how the boys had passed out, and there was no waking them. "What did you do last night?" Hermione asked her with a particular lilt in her voice.

"I did not go and find Draco if that's what you are actually asking. I had a much-needed hang out with Neville and Luna. I've been feeling like a bad friend for keeping everything from them."

"Are you feeling better now? I can't believe how much you've done and managed to keep to yourself. Well, and Malfoy. Er, Draco, I suppose." Hermione asked as Ginny went to stand in front of her vanity.

"You can call him Malfoy. He still calls you Granger." Ginny told her while she brushed her hair. "Did Harry tell you how I got the Horcrux out?" Ginny asked cautiously while she watched Hermione's reaction carefully in the mirror.

"No. Said he couldn't betray you like that." Ginny hadn't realized how tense she was until her shoulders relaxed at Hermione's answer. "Oh! Remus and Tonks are engaged!" Hermione said excitedly.

"Really? That's great! What are we going to call her when she's married?"

Hermione laughed. "That was Harry's first question too."

Hermione caught her up on what she'd missed in her classes the previous day all the way down to the Great Hall, and offered to lend her her notes.

Neville and Luna were at the Ravenclaw table, and Ginny led Hermione over to them for breakfast. Ginny glanced over to the Slytherin table and tried to seem casual while looking for Draco.

She found him sitting on his own near the end of the Slytherin table and he did not seem happy. A movement a few feet down from him caught her attention. Blaise Zabini. He caught her eye and gave her an exaggerated wink that made her laugh out loud.

"What?" Neville asked.

Ginny just shook her head smiling. "Nothing. Nothing." She waved them off. "Just someone being stupid."

Ginny managed to apologize to all of her previous days Professors, and got away with out a detention but she did loose a few house points, assuring them that she would get her assignments done.

Harry and Ron showed up at lunch time. Harry was still pretty happy. He was practically bursting when he remembered about the Gryffindor Quidditch practice that evening.

Ginny had almost no contact with Draco for the next two days following as well. She saw him in class and in the Great Hall, but he was never in the Room of Requirement when she checked it. His face when she did see him in class told her everything though. Dead eyes, no hint of a smile anywhere, relaxed brow, and he was stiff with his movements. The aristocratic brat was fully dodging her , hedidn't have the balls to do a face to face.

Harry was finally starting to mellow out by the Friday, but the twinkle in his eye and quick smile looked to be there to stay. He was also a lot more touchy feely then he had ever been. Arms over the shoulder of whoever was beside him, ruffling the hair of the younger students, and hugging Hermione much more often. Even Katie Bell got a hug once after their evening practice.

People were commenting on his good mood and the rumor was that he was getting laid. He cringed though when that rumor made it through the grape vine back to him, and that Romilda Vane, a fourth year from Ravenclaw, claimed that it was her doing.

()()()()()()()

True to his word, Dumbledore had been absent from the Great Hall on Thursday and most of Friday. When he did finally show up for dinner on the Friday he was rather sickly looking. Draco caught eyes with Theodore Nott, and Nott looked quite satisfied. Draco did his best to look smug, but nonchalant about it.

At that dinner Draco received another Owl from Borgin and Burks with instructions about the vanishing cabinet. He would have to do work on it this weekend, and hoped that Ginny wouldn't be able to track him down there. They hadn't talked all week, and he didn't have the inclination to deal with that situation just yet.

He'd been mulling over this thing between them for days now and his conclusion was; What the hell had he been thinking?

This wasn't going to work-out for them. It wasn't like they were going to 'be together for ever'. He was never going to go home and meet her parents. Never going to sit down for a casual chat with her friends. Just like everything he'd ever wanted. He played with it for a few weeks, then he would want something new. Why would this be any different?

It wasn't that he'd gotten distracted by someone else, yet, but it was bound to happen, then he'd fuck it up really badly. He respected her too much for that. He'd have to do what he did best. Be an ass.

If he was an ass to her, then maybe they could salvage some kind of friendship down the road. She'd been his only friend when he truly needed it.

The idiotic things she'd stopped him from doing were numerous, and he'd always owe her for that. He could have easily accidentally killed someone. Not Dumbledore, some else simply caught in the crossfire.

"Hey Draco." Purred a voice in his ear. He'd been absent mindedly twirling his food around on his fork before Pansy brought his attention back to the present.

"Oh good. You learned my name." He said quietly, but she caught it.

"Look. Draco." She started, in the least simpering and whiny voice he'd ever heard her use. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me." She said straight forward.

"Pansy. I've used you and treated you like crap. Why are you so interested in me? Is it my money? My name? What?"

"I can't like you for you?"

"You don't even know me."

"Then let's get to know each other better." There it was. She was back to her annoying simpering voice again. That was much easier for him to reject.

"Get to know Avery." He pointed down the table with his fork to his Quidditch teammate. Her face scrunched up in annoyance and he just got up and left her there.

He didn't notice one of his dorm mates following behind him until he caught up. "You've been turning down all the girls lately." Blaise said as he fell in stride beside him.

"I've had other things to do."

"From what I understand they'd only take up about five minutes of your time here and there."

Draco stopped in shock at Blaise calling him out like that. But it had been true, before Ginny. He let out a snicker. "True. I did just get mine and move on."

"Did?"

'Shit.' Draco thought. 'He was prying.' Blaise didn't wait for him to elaborate, or clarify, he just kept on his way to the Slytherin Common Room, and Draco headed up to the library. That, however, was when Ginny finally bumped into Draco outside of class. Literally bumped into him.

"Watch it." He growled, then realized it was her.

She checked to see if anyone was in eyesight, or earshot. But there wasn't. "Hi." She said lamely.

"Hello." He said back.

Ginny chewed her lip and shifted from foot to foot. "How…" She started. Asking 'How are you' seemed like such a lame thing to say. "I've been trying to catch you in the room." She whispered.

"I haven't been there since Saturday." He whispered back in a drawl.

"Are you avoiding me?" Ginny asked directly.

"I don't avoid people. Why would I need to avoid you?" She stared at him with her big, brown calculating eyes. He didn't like it when she did that, she was trying to get a read on him. He knew he needed to get this over with. "Fine. Meet me in the place from last Wednesday."

She nodded and continued on her way to get the book she'd come in for.

He waited for her to come into the office. Though it wouldn't take her long to follow him in, he felt like it had been ages. He'd been dodging her since Monday. He didn't want to do this. Have it over. But Potter was no longer harboring that little piece of evil that had broken them apart and she'd admitted to him last week that they probably never would have split had she just _known_ about it at the time, now he didn't even have it.

He could do this though. She deserved better. There were more people involved now, it wasn't just the two of them. Like her friends.

Looney Lovegood and Bumbling Neville Longbottom? They were pathetic. Now she was even friends with the annoying mudblood Granger. It was something they hadn't talked about. Something he hadn't even _thought_ about. Being involved with Ginny meant being nice to her friends. Ask 100 people at this school for a description of Draco Malfoy, and not a single one of them would say 'nice'.

Then Ginny came in.

"You've been doing a good job of dodging me." He shrugged in response. "That's it? A shrug?" She surveyed his demeanor. "What's going on?" Her face wasn't full of concern, or confusion. She had more of a resigned expression, like she already knew what was going on, she just needed him to say it out loud.

"Things have changed." He said simply, trying not to cringe at himself for what he'd just said. And how he'd said it. He sounded like his father.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Cut the crap, Draco. If you have something to say, than say it. Don't beat around the bush."

Eight days ago that would have made him smile. He usually loved it when she told him off. Determination was a good look on her, she got this blazing look in her eyes and an angry flush to her completion that made her lip color stand out a bit more. Now it just served as a reminder of what he was about to give up.

"This isn't going to work Ginny. Our families, your friends, and Potter. It's out there now, and we didn't think this part through. We're too different to keep carrying on like we have." He had his Occlumency shields up. Not that she was a Legitimence, but because it protected him from the vulnerability of emotions.

She didn't look dumbstruck by his statements, she just stood there, mouth closed and studying his face. "My friends?" She asked, clearly asking for a better explanation on what he meant by that being a problem.

"We never discussed it before." He said simply. "While I may want the Dark Lords downfall, that doesn't mean I want to be cavorting with Mudbloods and crazy people." He had to desperately fight the horror he felt as he watched her then. She never internalized her emotions. They were always on display, and she shoved them right in your face. So to see her slip on a mask of her own was heart wrenching.

He didn't allow himself to clench his jaw, give a hard swallow, nothing.

"Fine. If that's the way you feel." She said monotonously.

He couldn't find anything more to say. This was killing him. But it was for the right reasons. He wasn't lying even. As badly as he wanted her, her friends and he were never going to get along. He would never play nice with any of them, or her brothers. She and he getting on so well must have been out of close proximity, or a fluke.

"Guess we don't need each other anymore anyways." She shrugged.

Ouch.

She turned around and left him there. He didn't move. Part of him was anticipating her to storm back in and yell at him, like she had every time he'd done, or said, something she didn't agree with.

He waited.

Ten seconds.

Forty seconds.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

She wasn't coming back. He'd done it. They were done.

()()()()()()

Ginny was seething. She was pissed to holy hell. That fucking bastard. The nerve of him. She knew why he did it. The stupid prick was jealous of Harry, had been for years. She wasn't an idiot. She could read through the lines of his verbalized dislike of Harry Potter.

Now he decides to voice that he couldn't possibly tolerate her friends? It's not like she wasn't familiar with that kind of situation. She hadn't like Hermione when she and Harry were together, but at least she'd _tried_.

So, either he couldn't be bothered to try, or he figured there was no point because they were doomed to fail as a couple anyways, that and with her _obviously_ about to run back to Harry at any moment.

Ginny did her best not to growl out loud as she stormed through the halls, her homework completely forgotten.

She'd just let him do it too. Dump her. This was already getting to be a crazy roller coaster ride of emotions from him, if he wanted out, then fine.

She found herself standing in front of the wall where the room of requirement would be found. Her body took her there, just knowing she wanted to find things to break. But she didn't want to break things because of him. She wanted to channel it into something productive, and clear her head.

She remembered that Neville was working in the greenhouse, she could go and help him.

So that's what she did. She stormed back through the halls and out onto the grounds towards the greenhouses.

He was trimming plants, and re-potting seedlings, and doing basic clean-up. He'd looked surprised to see her when she found him in greenhouse one, but saw the funny look on her face and had thought better than to ask what was wrong.

Instead he just gave her directions and chatted on about properties of the plants they were dealing with.

She had remained mostly silent, and tried not to take out her frustrations on the plants. They kept at it for a few hours. It was nearly curfew by the time Neville removed his gloves.

"How long will your Herbology apprenticeship take?" She asked him as they walked back to the castle.

"Since I am technically already started, it just depends on how much of my spare time I can dedicate to it for the rest of this year and next. I need a accumulative 3000 hours to be a 'Master'."

"And that's what you would need to take over, should Professor Sprout retire?"

"Yes, but I don't know if I'll want to teach exclusively."

"What do you want to do, if you could?"

Neville touched her arm to stop her walking. "Ginny, what's wrong?" He asked.

She huffed and looked up at the school. "Draco and I are done."

Neville hesitated. "Oh."

She looked back at him and stared for a moment at his discomfort, then gave him a cheeky smile. "Couldn't manage any more than that, eh?

"Sorry. I just… can't pretend I like him."

She sighed and toed her foot in the snow. "Yeah. That was his problem too. Or so he claims anyway."

Neville wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "Everything is going to be alright."

"I know." Ginny mumbled into his cloak. "And I've seen this coming all week. It just kind of sucks right now."

()()()()()()()

Ginny sat with Neville and Luna at the Ravenclaw table on Saturday morning.

They were such an odd couple. The two of them were so great, in completely different ways. She was incisive and direct, and off in a whole other world of color and sparkles. Neville was so down to earth and calm, but shy. They obviously enjoyed all the things that came with being in a relationship. Luna had told her all about the finer aspects of their coupling, against her will. She really didn't need to know any specifics about Neville's body, or moves.

And Neville had gotten a little more confident after time spent in a broom cupboard. They really were two of her favorite people. They made her smile when she was feeling down, and she hoped she had the same effect on them.

"Neville told me you'd be a bit depressed today." Luna told her when they first met up.

"And why?" Ginny asked, to confirm he relayed that bit as well.

"Yes. I have to wonder if it is a good thing."

Ginny had been wondering that all night.

She'd reflected on all the times they'd shared together as friends, and then the more than friends. She'd tried to focus on his personality. Had she liked it? He was kind of snobbish and tortured. The spoiled only child syndrome was irritating for sure. And he straight up did not like her friends or family.

Who was she if not the accumulation of all those people? She was clever like Bill and Percy. She liked a bit of danger, like Charlie and Ron. She liked Muggle things like her dad and Ethan. She was inventive and humorous like the twins. She was down to earth like Neville, but had a crazy side like Luna.

So, if he didn't like them, why would he like her?

The answer was obvious. Because she was bangably pretty, and there wasn't anyone else. Hadn't that been her reason too? He was a good looking boy, and there hadn't been anyone else to turn to. Stick any two people their age in a situation like that and they'll inevitably start sucking face with one another.

She'd stuck her face in her pillow screaming half the night because of the memory of what they'd done together in their short time. And that she'd enjoyed it. It hadn't felt disgusting at the time, but she was disgusted with herself now. She shivered at the Ravenclaw table when she recalled it.

"What was that?" Neville asked her.

"What?"

"That little wiggle you just did."

Ginny saw Draco come into the hall and head to his house table. He looked miserable and smarmy. She then remembered that one week ago today he was doing a very convincing job of trying to get her to shag him.

Now she was hit with a wave of nausea. "Uh." She moaned. "I think I'm going to be sick." She rested her head in her hands hoping the nausea would pass.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Luna asked.

"I don't even know."

"Don't you have Quidditch practice soon?" Neville asked.

Ginny groaned in response. She got to her feet and waved good-bye to them, not trusting her ability to keep her food down if she said anything. Half way back up to the tower she ran into Ron, Harry and Hermione. Ron and Harry were dressed and ready for practice.

"Ginny, are you okay? You're all glassy eyed and pale." Hermione put her hand to Ginny's forehead.

Her cool hand actually felt quite nice. The nausea was passing. Gunny hummed and leaned into her hand slightly, closing her eyes. "I'll be fine." She mumbled. Opening her eyes she saw Hermione was pretty concerned. Ron looked hungry and Harry, who was still slightly euphoric was now fighting the smile on his face. She couldn't help but smile slightly at his struggle. "I didn't sleep well. Think I'll go change and see about getting some Pepper-Up Potion before practice."

"Fantastic idea." Harry said brightly. "Can't have practice with-out our star Chaser."

"You sure you're okay?" Hermione asked.

Ginny shrugged. "I've been worse." She told her honestly.

Their Quidditch practices were only once during the week and once every other week-end. She could power through it with some potion. Her ill feeling wasn't actually illness related anyways. It wasn't like a break-up lowered your immune system.

"Alright. Well I have some Pepper-Up Potion if you want me to come back up to the dorm with you." Hermione offered.

"Really? That's great. Thank you."

They split off from the boys and Hermione must have sensed that Ginny wasn't feeling particularly chatty, because she filled in the silences with some stories of what was going on with her parents back home. Ginny got changed into her kit and they went back downstairs and out to the pitch, she had the bottle of Pepper-Up Potion in her pocket but she was already feeling better and going to take it when she got in the change room.

"Glad you're starting to feel better." Hermione said outside the pitch.

Ginny gave her a smile before she turned back to the school, she was thinking about how much things had changed between them. She pulled the older girl into a hug.

"What's this about?" Hermione chuckled, hugging her back.

"I'm just really glad we're friends now." Ginny said into her hair.

Hermione gave her a squeeze. "Me too."

Ginny let her go and took the potion, downing it before heading into the change room. As she opened the door she started hacking a bit at the awful taste and the effects assaulted her sinuses and the back of her throat.

"Ginny! Are you okay?" Katie grabbed her arm.

"Yeah!" She coughed. The steam started pouring out of her ears. She was feeling a little hysterical and silly. "Hey! Do you think if I focused hard enough I could get the steam to come out of my nose?" Katie and Demelza, who'd also come up to her concerned, started laughing.

"Why would you want to do that?" Ron asked.

"Intimidation tactic." She screwed up her face in concentration and blew through her nose. A little bit of steam did come out. "Yay! I'm a dragon." She cheered, she was getting dangerously hysterical with her yoyoing emotions.

"You looked constipated." Ron told her.

She snorted. "That might scare them too." She sat down with the other two Chasers and looked to Harry for the game plan for practice. He was already staring at her.

()()()()()()()

Severus Snape met Draco Malfoy outside of the Room of Requirement on Saturday at 3 p.m. precisely. Draco was on time and let them into the room. The sheer magnitude of the treasures that were found in this room, the history, he was itching to give a proper cataloging but resisted and followed his student to the Vanishing Cabinet.

"Miss Weasley is at Quidditch practice still I take it?" He sneered. It had been hard enough to have to listen to the two of them last week. He hoped he wouldn't have to go through that again this afternoon. No matter how interesting he now found the young girl, nor how much he cared for Draco, teenage romance still made him scoff.

"You won't have to worry about that anymore." Draco told him sourly. "I took care of it."

"Took care of it." He repeated.

Draco rested his back against the cabinet and let Severus look him full in the eyes. Inviting him into his thoughts. Curiosity got the better of him. He gripped his wand and wordlessly allowed himself into Draco's mind.

There was only one vision pushed to the forefront of his mind. If miss Weasley's face, devoid of emotion telling him they didn't need each other anymore anyways before walking through a door.

"Is that true?" He asked Draco when he'd pulled back. "You don't need her anymore?"

Draco was very good at schooling his emotions, but Snape was better and recognized the tells. He was not happy about it. "She wasn't wrong." Draco said simply. "I have your help now with this project." He elbowed the cabinet. "And it was pointed out to me yesterday that there were several other options to take care of my other… activities."

Snape sneered at that. He certainly didn't need to know what Draco had been getting up to with Ginevra Weasley in that regard. The boy was upset, but determined to shove it all under the rug. He was keeping himself together much better than Snape himself had when he had permanently lost his own lovely redhead.

That had been the last time he'd bared his own feelings to the public, in the attempt to get her back. Camping out on the stairs in front of Gryffindor Tower had been embarrassing and fruitless, but he'd loved Lily, and he'd do it all over again if he had the chance. Clearly Draco did not have the same feelings for Miss Weasley.

He nodded then, knowing that the boy may be upset about it now, but he would get over it.

Draco handed over his letter from Caractacus Burke and Snape read through it carefully before examining the cabinet thoroughly. Draco told him all of the attempts they'd made to fix it over the past months, then Snape stood back while Draco followed the instructions on the letter.

()()()()()()()()()

"I like the paintball gun idea." Fred argued.

"It is a toy. You want to go into a fight with Death Eaters with a toy?" Tonks asked.

"Why not? It's effective!" George pointed out. "They completely won't be expecting it."

"Yeah. According to Sirius' map here, there's loads of places for us to take cover." Fred indicated to the scale model that had been created of the Room the vanishing cabinet was found in.

"It is juvenile." Bill pointed out.

"So are we." The twins said.

"We still get the job done." Fred said.

"I think we should all take our own approach." Sirius suggested. "Hit them with everything we've got."

"We have to know what everyone else will be using though." Moody growled. "I don't want to be about to hex Dolohov's eyes out when the whole area is suddenly engulfed in that Darkness Powder." He pointed at the twins.

"Ver eez Remus?" Fleur asked Tonks quietly.

"Basement. We'll fill him in tomorrow night." It was a full moon that night.

Albus Dumbledore thought the planning was coming along wonderfully. The bickering was amusing, to say the least. They knew where exactly they were going to attack. Borgin and Burke's, the Room of Requirement, and Malfoy Manor. Now they were only concerning themselves with the method.

"I don't like how excited you two seem about this." Molly said putting a plate of biscuits down for the group and scolding her twin sons.

"Hey. It's exciting stuff, and we have the upper hand." George shrugged off her concern.

"Now Molly, it's just their way." Arthur told her, then turned to Albus. "We Weasley's are all happy to help as much as we can."

Sirius snorted and winked at Albus, who chuckled. "We appreciate you lot more than you know." Sirius managed.

"Now. Are you sure we can trust the Malfoy boy to help us get into the Manor?" Moody asked for the tenth time since learning of the planned attack, in as many days.

"Yes. Completely." Albus told them. "He and Severus will go back through the Vanishing Cabinet to Knockturn Alley and assist in getting the members of the Order through the wards surrounding the Manor. The two of them will lead us into the Manor and claim that I have been killed while we try to kill the snake."

"And why does the snake need to get killed?" Molly asked.

"I can't tell you that part just yet." He didn't want too many people knowing about the existence of Horcrux's, lest there be questions about whether there were any more of them. He had told Miss Weasley he wouldn't let her family know of her involvement. After all that she had done, he owed it to her to keep that promise. "Just please trust my word on that."

"We won't know what kind of fortifications they'll have at the Manor." Moody continued.

"We'll know better right before we go though. It'll be easier to tell when we know how many Death Eaters we catch going through Borgin and Burke's." Tonks said.

"So we need to be prepared for all situations." Moody said. "Now, is the boy seventeen?"

"He will be seventeen in June, but he knows how to Apparate." Dumbledore told Mad-Eye. He had Severus ensure that Draco could Apparate the previous week-end, taking him to Hogsmeade to perfect it. "It won't be legal to the Ministry of Magic, however I've already drafted a letter giving my approval to the Wizengamot, should he receive any trouble about it after the fact." He received a few curious looks after that. It was because he didn't know if he would be around to defend Draco when the time came.

The plan to make him appear to be weakening was working. He was 'mysteriously' absent every Thursday after taking his potion to slow his hands curse, and had played the part of sick and elderly through the rest of the week. The Ministry had been sending owls inquiring about his health and wanting him to go see the Healers at St. Mungo's. His spirits were high though. He was truly optimistic.

"How's Harry doing?" Sirius asked him quietly.

"Our Mr. Potter is doing wonderfully. He had calmed down dramatically over the last two weeks, and has quite settled into himself. Reminds me of how James used to be. Good natured and generally happy." He knew Sirius was desperate to see him again, but after Harry and Ron had returned to the Headmasters office after their visit to Grimmauld Place rather hung over, he was less inclined to allow such visits.

()()()()()()()

Harry had been hanging around with Hermione and Ron in the common room, but they had started moving closer and closer together and it was pretty obvious they could use some alone time, so he figured he'd go for a walk through the castle. Normally he'd go for a fly, but it was really chilly and windy out, and he really didn't want to do homework, so he figured he'd just stretch his legs and wander.

He'd been feeling pretty great lately, but also kind of lost. It was like the past few years were just a build up to when he would have to face Voldemort finally. And now he didn't, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. Was he supposed to behave like all the other teenage boys around the school? Chasing girls and putting off homework? He had said a few weeks ago that he still wanted to be the one to kill Voldemort, but now that it could be someone else's problem to deal with, and he actually had options in that regard, he didn't know what he wanted.

He came across some of the first or second years (They were both so small looking, he couldn't tell) playing some version of tag on the fourth floors, had a short chat with Nearly Headless Nick on the fifth, and ducked into the kitchen quickly for a snack, then on the sixth floor he heard some music coming from one of the empty classrooms.

It sounded like rock music of some kind. It wasn't very loud, but he went to investigate. As he drew closer the music stopped, but he heard a familiar laugh.

"Who would call their band 'Porno for Pyro's? That's ridiculous."

It was Ginny. He smiled at the sound of her laughter again and wondered who she was talking too. He poked his head through the door, but didn't see anyone.

"Well it's a really popular song." Said a male voice with an American accent. Harry recognized it as Ethan, her friend from Ilvermory.

Ginny had her homework spread out over the table, and her could make out the corner of her mirror propped up on her bag in front of her. He didn't' want to interrupt, but had kind of wanted to meet Ethan before, call it curiosity.

They both sounded as though they'd been chatting merrily for a while.

"Okay. Now back to what I wanted to ask you about Natalie." Ethan said.

"Urgh. You can't be having girl troubles with her already. You've only been dating for two weeks!"

"No, no. Just that she's 'riding the crimson wave' as you put it, so she doesn't want to fool around. At _all_." Harry's eyes went wide. He knew what that meant, but was astounded that Ethan was talking to Ginny about his girlfriends period.

"So?"

"So, can you girls _not_ do _anything_ when that's going on?"

Ginny laughed. "Well we can't do _everything_ when that's going on, that'd be pretty gross I'd imagine. Don't think you'd enjoy that. Wouldn't try to talk her into it either. You'll just have to wank."

Ethan groaned. Then he asked a most intriguing question. "Hey, do girls do that?"

"Course we do, what else do we have a middle and index finger for?" She chuckled.

Harry's jaw dropped. Ginny did that? He was immediately assaulted with the image of her laying back against his pillows in her knickers with her hand moving underneath them and arching her back moaning. He shook his head. This was a very private and candid conversation to be overhearing.

"Wonder if she'd let me watch." Harry could hear the smile and intrigue in Ethan's tone.

"Oh. Good idea." Ginny said sarcastically. "Then next week you can tell me all about your break-up."

"Bad idea?"

"Way to soon."

"At what point is it not too soon?" Harry wanted to know her opinion on that too.

"How the hell would I know? Like there's some date you can set in your calendar? January eighth, hooked up with Natalie, so that means that June eighth I get to watch her flick the bean."

"Six months? That's a long time."

Harry marveled at this conversation. He'd never talk to Hermione like this. He was torn. Should he go, should he stay. He accidentally nudged the door and it creaked. Ginny swung around with a surprised face that slipped into an easy smile.

"Hey Harry."

"Cool! Is Harry Potter there? Let me meet him finally."

Ginny waved him to come over and sit beside her. Harry peered at the boy in the mirror. He had blue eyes and sandy brown hair. He didn't know what he was expecting, he'd heard stories about how he was some kind of player, but he looked pretty average.

"Hey! Finally!" Ethan greeted him. Then Harry got it. It was his whole attitude. Something about his smile and his relaxed confidence in his eyes.

"Hey." Harry said back. "Nice to finally meet you. Heard a lot of stories."

"Me too." Ethan grinned mischievously. "Been wanting to congratulate you on being the first guy to get our Ginny here in bed."

"Ethan!" Ginny warned. "I will throw you out the window."

"Uh…" Harry smiled uncomfortably. Had Ginny been talking about him? Was it something good? He looked to Ginny. She had a pretty blush on her cheeks and was biting her lip smiling at him and shaking her head laughing.

"How much did you eavesdrop on before we noticed you?" Ethan asked.

It was Harry's turn to blush a bit. "A little." He admitted.

"Awe. He blushes." Ginny teased and tapped his cheek.

He hung out with Ginny and Ethan for a while, until Ethan had to go. Then he hung out with Ginny for a bit. They talked and laughed about a lot of things, mostly comparing the Muggle and Wizarding world, and what Harry found most interesting about the domestic differences between the Burrow and the house he grew up in.

They stayed away from the more serious subjects though. Nothing about Malfoy's, and nothing about the upcoming battle. For a bit there it felt like it had when they were together the last fall, except a million times better because she wasn't pulling away from him, and he didn't have that gloomy feeling at the back of his mind that had been there for the majority of his life.

()()()()()()()()()

Over the next few weeks everything seemed to settle. Harry wasn't bouncing off the walls anymore, he was more of how he used to be, just quicker to smile and crack a joke than he had been. Draco had been meeting up with Professor Snape in the Room of Requirement once a week instead of Ginny. Dumbledore had been absent from more meals than he was present for, and it was relayed to Ginny that he and the Order of the Phoenix had been hard at work planning their attack on Malfoy Manor and the Room of Requirement. And Ginny had been taking more afternoon fly's than she had been before, but focusing on school and Quidditch as she always had.

Luna and Neville knew she was single, but she had never advertised her relationship status before, and she wasn't going to now.

Now it was a week into February when Ginny and Hermione were in the Gryffindor Common Room and Lavender came tearing in through the portrait hole all upset. She went straight up to their dorm room, then came back down a moment later and huffing down at their table, taking a seat.

Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look. Parvati must have been off with Seamus. That meant whatever was going on with Lavender was now their issue to deal with.

Ginny took the curse. "What's going on? You look upset." She tried out her least fake concerned voice.

"Ernie and I split."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Was it mutual?"

"No! I really liked him! And I didn't see this coming! And with Valentines day next week! I can't be _alone_ on Valentine's Day! We were supposed to go to Madame Pudifoots, and take a walk in the snow, and he was supposed to tell me he loved me. It was supposed to be perfect! Now it's ruined." Lavender put her head down on the table and let out some sobs.

The two other girls cringed at each other with wide eyes and looking a little horrified. "There, there." Ginny patted her head awkwardly. "You'll find someone else."

Lavender's head shot up abruptly. "Not before the Hogsmeade visit though! And almost everyone has dates! Ron and Hermione, Parvati and Seamus, Neville and Luna, Dean and Amantha, Harry even asked Susan."

Ginny blinked at her at that. She hadn't heard that, and from Hermione's expression, that was something she'd been keeping to herself.

"Oh!" Lavender put her hand on top of Ginny's. "But you aren't going with anyone, are you?" She looked excited about that, and wiped under her eye's with her free hand. "You and I can go together, alright? We can get a group of single people together!"

"Oh… I was planning on-"

"Oh! But you have to come. And maybe we can get some single boys, then it can be like a speed dating kind of thing!" She clapped her hands together like an excited toddler. "Oh! I'll just go ask around. Thanks girls. I needed that." She smiled and took off back out the portrait hole.

Ginny gave Hermione a pained expression, and with fake cheeriness said "I made it better." Hermione snickered. "You stop it, or I'll tell Ron you were to shy to tell him _you_ want to go to Madame Pudifoots."

"Fine." She sobered. "Looks like your Valentine will just have to wait until after Hogsmead to spend time with you."

Ginny had already started back into her essay. "What Valentine?" She asked.

"You know…"

Ginny looked up at her, confused. "Oh!" She remembered. "Um. No, that's over."

"WHAT?" She yelled. Every head in the common room turned to look at them. "I mean." She went to a quieter volume. "Since when?"

Ginny looked around and judged that there were too many interested observers in ear shot. "Not here." Ginny sighed and they collected their work and went up to the dorm.

Hermione shut the door. "So? Since when?"

Ginny just sat on her bed. "It's not a big deal or anything." Hermione gave her a pointed look. Ginny rolled her eyes. "A month ago."

"A month? How did I not know this?"

Ginny shrugged. "It never came up."

"But, all those times you'd disappear."

"I was going out for a fly, or meeting up with Luna."

"Well. What happened?" Ginny leaned back against one of the four posters and gave Hermione a 'come on, seriously?' look. "So, everything then."

"Yep. Everything. He was jealous of Harry. He hates my friends, my friends hate him. Apparently he _does_ believe in pureblood supremacy. And I was keeping a secret from him, something Dumbledore told me, which meant we weren't a team anymore."

Hermione came and sat on her bed too, leaning up against the other four poster. "Did you really like him?" She asked sympathetically.

"I was attracted to him. We were there for each other in a way that no one else was when we needed it. And, you know, hormones." She admitted. "It was brief, and it was intense, and then it was nothing."

"Are you okay about it?" She showed true concern for Ginny's feelings.

"Yeah." She said honestly. "I was super pissed when he ditched me, but he was right. It wouldn't work out. And I certainly didn't like him enough to ditch my friends for him." She was disgusted at the thought.

"And. Um. Harry?" Hermione asked carefully.

Ginny smiled and rolled her eyes again. "Harry. I allowed myself quite a while after we'd split before I made a move on Draco, because. Well, you know why Harry and I didn't work out before. It wasn't because I didn't care about him, or like being around him."

"He still loves you, you know." Hermione told her.

"Susan?" Ginny pointed out to her with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione blushed. "Ron and I had a hand in that. He's been so happy and relaxed lately, but he always looked a little like his old brooding self when he saw you. So we encouraged him to at least try dating someone else."

Ginny nodded. She'd had her fair share of dating experience. Harry had only ever gone out with Cho Chang once, then just Ginny. She hadn't expected him to just sit around pining.

"He asked her in Care of Magical Creatures the other day. Sorry you had to find out like that. They aren't dating or anything. They're just going to Hogsmeade together." She clarified.

"Hermione, that _is_ a date."

"You know what I mean. They aren't running around in broom cupboards."

"That you know of."

"Pretty sure he doesn't have a reason to lie about this one. She's not exactly his best mate's little sister."

"So he's cool with everyone knowing he's going out with Susan Bones, but he didn't want anyone to know about me." She wasn't angry. She just wanted to talk that through.

"It's different because he doesn't actually know her. There was nothing linking them before." Hermione played with the quilt on the bed. "Do you want to get back with Harry?"

"I." She started and blushed a bit. "It wouldn't be fair of me to say 'yes' or 'no'. I never fully stopped caring about Harry. More than just 'friend' caring. But…"

"But if you did tell him, then it would be too big?"

"You know how long you and Ron danced around your feelings for so long before it happened?"

"Thank you, by the way."

"Your eternal gratitude is all the thanks I need." Ginny teased. "Harry is still discovering who he is right now. I. I don't want to make any hard and fast decisions."

"That's fair."

If Ginny was being truly honest with herself, then she had to admit that Draco was right. She'd enjoyed spending time with the real Harry a little too much. Feeling butterflies when he smiled at her, hoping he'd accidentally brush up against her when they sat beside each other.

Every time she accidentally locked eyes with Draco, however, she'd just feel annoyed, and angry at herself. She could still read him easily. That wasn't something that was just going to go away. He wasn't happy, but he looked resolved.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter**

Harry was sitting by himself in the common room when Ginny came back from dinner. Ron and Hermione had rounds and Neville and Luna were off snogging in a broom closet. She hadn't seen him at dinner, and he was staring into the fire at nothing. She went over and sat down beside him. "Happy Month-iversary." She said.

He looked over at her startled, like he'd just come out of a trance. He relaxed back into the couch and the weight difference on the cushions made her lean slightly more against him. She knew she should probably have pulled away, but she didn't want to, so unless he shifted, she was going to stay the way she was.

"Month-iversary?" His lips ticked up.

"It was a month ago today that I … took care of you." After it came out of her mouth she realized what that sounded like. Her eyes widened and she chuckled. "Well, you know what I mean."

He was grinning down at her with raised eyebrows. "You going to 'take care of me' again as an anniversary present?"

She was shocked at his flirtation. "Why, Mr. Potter! I am astounded with your innuendo."

"You want me to stop?"

No, she didn't. But she wanted any excuse she could think of to spend more one on one time with him, and stare at those gorgeous eyes. "I want." Was it her imagination, or was he leaning in a little bit. "You." My, it was quite warm by this fireplace. "To tell me." He did lean away slightly. "Something."

"Something?" He wiped his palms along his leg, his pinky running along her leg too.

"Tell me one of your secrets." She leaned more against him.

"I'm pretty sure that by now you know all of my secrets." He gave her a confused look.

"All the important ones. Tell me a small one, something insignificant."

"I hate Brussel sprouts."

They both laughed. "Me too. Okay, my turn."

"Is this going to be like our twenty questions game?" He asked, referring to their first night at Hogwarts in September.

"Yes, except you decide the question for yourself."

"Why?"

"Because I miss you." She said simply.

"We see each other every day." He said quietly.

"It's not the same." She shook her head and told him quietly. "That day you found me chatting with Ethan was a lot of fun."

"I thought so too." He smiled softly at her.

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm trying to recreate it."

He regarded her carefully. "We'd never really hung out like that before."

"No. Not even when… there was just so many things that were out of bounds to say." She said awkwardly.

"And now there isn't." His eyes were intently fixed on hers.

Except there was still one thing she was struggling with how to tell him. She wasn't with Draco anymore, and she wanted him back. Badly. She buried her feelings for him in a very shallow grave, and that dirt was getting overturned every time she caught a whiff of his soap. Every time he accidentally touched her, or she caught his eyes, she wanted to grab him and snog him senseless. But he had a date with Susan. Tomorrow. And Susan was a nice girl. He deserved to go on a date with a nice girl, because Ginny sure didn't feel like one. And Harry needed to know what his options were.

"After I created the nail polish, I never used it." She jumped back into her original conversation.

"What?!"

"I'm not a girlie girl. I had to learn a lot of what it meant to properly primp and groom and such once I got to school. Hestia and Norma showed me the ropes. Then Megan, my roommate at Ilvermory. My mum wanted to teach me all that stuff, but it was not cool when surrounded by boys to play with make-up and do pedicures."

Harry laughed. She liked his laugh. "Yeah. I guess that makes sense. And just so you know, you always look pretty effortlessly pretty."

She felt her face flush pleasantly at the compliment. "I do actually put in some effort, so thank you for noticing."

He turned serious. "I haven't told anyone about how the Dursley's have actually treated me."

She sucked in a breath and bit her lip. That was a very serious subject. "Harry." She whispered.

"When your brothers busted me out before my second year. They didn't' say anything. You did. I… don't think they fully comprehended what the bars on the windows, or the cat flap meant." She scooted closer to him and fought the urge to climb into his lap and wrap her arms around him. "You saw it and knew right away. I pushed that moment away for a long time and tried to forget how you looked at me. At the time I thought it was pity, and I didn't want your pity."

She shook her head. "It wasn't."

"I know." He leaned back in slightly.

"I wanted to take a knife to all of their furniture and break every single one of their dishes over their heads." She whispered. At some point their foreheads had come to rest on the others.

"I would have loved to see that."

"The… that, hadn't always been your room. Had it." She asked carefully.

"No. My first one was smaller." He was almost inaudible now.

She blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek. Thankfully Harry's eyes were closed. It hadn't been cool to cry when she was growing up around boys either. And if she did, it was always because she was a girl, not because she had a reason, so there was a stigma around it to her. She did her best not to cry, and passed everything off with nonchalant humor instead.

"The closet, under the stairs?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "All my earliest memories, I'm trapped in there."

"That is not a small secret Harry." His thumb wiped away another one of her tears.

She opened her eyes. His were so close to her. His nose and his lips, they were right there. She licked her lips and he tilted his head up slightly, so their noses bumped. She drew in a sharp breath and pulled back. When had they started holding hands? Her leg was pressed so close to his, and his body was so warm.

"You may not have a Horcrux any more Harry Potter, but you are still one very dangerous boy." She said, not taking her eyes off his for a second. She couldn't let her feelings guide her right now. He had a date tomorrow. She just needed to keep repeating that to herself.

"What do you mean?" He asked simply enough, but she saw lust in his eyes.

"I mean… I … have to go do some studying." She managed and essentially fled to her dorm room to take care of the need that was building between her legs.

()()()()()()

Harry wondered why he wasn't feeling nervous. Shouldn't he feel nervous taking a girl out for the first time? It was Valentine's Weekend and he had a date. That alone should be filling him with anxiety about what to do, and what could potentially go wrong.

That's how it had been with Ginny. That ended in disaster. And that's what had happened with Cho, that too had been Valentine's Weekend, and he didn't even _want_ to go on that one.

Maybe that was it. He knew it was bound to end in disaster, so he couldn't be bothered to stress about it ahead of time. Plus the added fact that, though pretty and sweet as Susan was, she wasn't who he truly wanted to be spending his Hogsmeade weekend with.

He spotted Susan coming out of the entrance and went over to greet her. They shared a fairly silent carriage ride down to the village and talked about hitting the shops to stock up on things before going to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer.

He told her she looked nice, and she blushed, thanking him almost inaudibly. Everything was feeling so forced. He had to try and start a conversation every time. She was just so meek.

By the time they got to the Three Broomsticks he was about ready to give up. He hadn't found any common ground between them. Favorite Quidditch team? Didn't have one. Plans after Hogwarts? Shrug. Favorite Subject? Ancient Runes. Sweets? None really. Joke shop items? Hadn't thought about it. He was resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her. This was painful.

He looked around the pub, trying to find anything to spur on some kind of back and forth conversation, when he saw a group of six come into the pub. Ginny was amongst them. She was with Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey, Michael Corner, and two other students he only knew by sight. Not people he'd ever seen her with before.

"Oh, that's the group of single's Brown assembled. Said she was arranging a speed dating thing." Susan said, following his gaze.

Harry had been taking a sip of his Butterbeer and spat it out all over Susan. He wasn't sure whether to look horrified, or laugh at his date, now covered in his drink. The speed dating part had got him. He glanced back over to see Ginny's eyes twinkling with laughter at his mishap.

He was trying to pat the spray off of Susan as he was looking over at Ginny. He saw her eye's go wide, and she bit her lip to stop from laughing and shook her head 'no' pointedly.

"Um, Harry?" Susan said.

He looked back at his date, and saw his hand had travelled a little lower then intended. He drew his hand back quickly. "I am so sorry."

Not long after that they walked back to Hogwarts and _waved_ goodbye to each other. If he was an ostrich he'd have just buried his head in the sand. It was just so awkward.

He headed to his dorm room, grabbed his Firebolt and jumped out the window with it. Strictly speaking, they weren't supposed to do that, he'd only done it once before, but it would take so long to walk back down with the broom, and he just wanted to be airborne.

He flew around the castle a few times trying to shake off the embarrassment. He'd kept reliving every torturous moment in the date again and again. So, he did some laps around the Quidditch pitch, tried out some moves he read about in his Quidditch Quarterly magazine until he felt himself again, then went back to the dorm room.

Ron was there dropping off his cloak. "Hey mate. How was your date?"

Harry's mood was pretty good now and he started laughing. "It was bloody awful."

Ron looked at him sideways for a moment, then smiled. "Well. At least you tried." He shrugged.

"Yeah. You hungry?"

()()()()()

"How was your trip to Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked Ginny as she came through the portrait hole.

"Ugh." Ginny replied.

Hermione laughed lightly. "So, not a good time."

"It was just so forced. Michael Corner seemed a little too interested in sitting beside me, and Lavender suggested we play some version of Truth or Dare. Like I can ever play that game." Ginny joined her on the couch.

"Yes, I guess there's a bit too many truths that are off the table for you." Hermione agreed. "They usually have something to do with embarrassing romantic encounters, and you can't exactly tell the truth about who the last person you kissed was."

Ginny stared at her a moment and a huge smile came over her face. Her eyes started tearing up and she bowed her head laughing. "You have no idea!"

Hermione was confused. "Well, I do have some idea, don't I?"

Ginny looked around the common room to see if anyone was close by or could be listening in before she leaned over. "The last person that kissed me was Sirius."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"He didn't mean anything by it!" She assured her. "He'd just found out about... you know, all that. He was caught up in the moment." She shrugged. Then her shoulders sagged. "My life is so weird." Hermione nodded in assent. "So, in not too much detail. Tell me, how was your date with Ron?"

Hermione flushed. "Lovely." She got a dopey smile on her face.

Ron and Harry came down then, and crossed over to them.

"How was your group thing?" Harry asked her lightly.

She scowled adorably. "Painful. The highlight was watching you accidentally maul your date." Harry blushed a bit and chuckled. "Speaking of. How was it?" She asked him.

He noticed Hermione paying special attention. "Really, really awkward. And painful." He smiled at Ginny.

"Looked it from what I saw before you left the pub." She turned to the other two. "Anyone going for dinner?"

"We are." Ron replied.

Ron and Hermione were a few steps ahead of Harry and Ginny as they headed down to the Great Hall in lock step. "Saw you flying around the pitch on my way back. Were you trying out the Woollongong Shimmy?"

He beamed. "Yeah. What'd you think?"

"I think you'd better not decide to become a Chaser, otherwise I'll have to try all that much harder to keep my spot." She teased, beaming over at him.

Harry laughed. They chatted easily about Quidditch strategies and trying out the Porskoff Ploy at the next practice. He marveled at how natural it was to be with her. Smiling, joking, laughing, talking Quidditch. God he loved her.

They sat down beside each other at the Gryffindor table and after they'd loaded up their plates and started digging in while continuing their conversation, his attention was called briefly to the other side of the room, where Draco Malfoy sat glaring at him.

Harry's mood dipped a moment when he remembered that Ginny was with that ponce, but then he saw Tracey Davis kiss Malfoy's cheek, and Malfoy didn't push her off, or show any sign that he objected to the attention.

Right in eyeline of Ginny too! That rotten bastard! Harry glared right back at him.

"Something wrong?" Ginny asked and looked over to the Slytherin table. "Oh." She said.

She didn't seem sad, or even very upset about it. "Oh?" Harry asked confused. He saw hesitation on her face and she was making this movement with her lips, like she wanted to share something with him, but hadn't known quite how. 'Holy crap! They broke up.' He thought. "Did. Did. Did you?" He stuttered quietly.

She raised her eyebrows at his inability to speak properly and managed to find her words herself. "Did I suddenly become available?" Harry could only nod. "Well, it isn't really suddenly. It's been a while now." She looked down at her plate, blushing and twirling her fork around.

He felt like he no longer needed food to sustain him. She wasn't with Draco Malfoy anymore, and hadn't been for a while. Surely she wouldn't have told him like that if she was still torn up about it.

'Wait.' He thought. "Why didn't you tell me when you ended it?" Ginny paused playing with mashed potatoes. She looked around them at all the people surrounded the area. "Right." He whispered. "Can. Can we go somewhere? Talk?"

She blushed and bit her lip before she turned back to her plate and nodded. He looked over to his two friends. They were quite involved with staring at each other and whispering back and forth. Harry didn't realize how quietly he'd been talking with Ginny that they hadn't been overheard. He touched her hand with his and pulled it back, and they both left the table.

He led Ginny out to a crest of land by the lake. There were quite a few couples scattered all over the grounds, and no doubt that all the regular broom cupboards would be occupied today of all days. He scouted a spot with a good radius of space around it.

"You broke up with him?" It was the first think he asked when they stopped and sat down.

"No." She shook her head. "He broke it off with me." She was sitting on her heals facing him beside his legs stretched out in front of him.

He was shocked. "What?! Is he nuts? Why?"

Ginny laughed once. "For very good reasons. It just took me a minute there to agree with them."

"Can I ask you what the reasons were?"

"Well… he didn't have a Horcrux. So, don't worry about that being one of them." She joked.

"Ginny."

She sighed. "I feel like I'd be betraying confidences if I told you all of them, so I'll just tell you the deal breaker. He said he could never get on with my friends. And my friends mean everything to me. It was something that had never come up before. The other shoe really dropped when he referred to Hermione as a…"

She couldn't even say the word. Just another reason why he loved this girl. She was sitting there drawing doodles in the snow with her finger, defending his best friend.

He leaned in and captured her lips. He heard her inhale sharply through her nose in surprise as he cupped the back of her head and kissed her. For a moment he worried he'd made the wrong move. She was tense, and her lips were still as his moved against them. Then he felt it. Just a little pressure from her, then a little more response, and a satisfied sigh from her as she leaned into him more.

He moved his arm around her waist and pulled them closer. She was kissing him back. It wasn't as passionate as they had been back in the fall, but his inner self was still pumping victory fist bumps in the air.

"Harry." She whispered between his kisses. "Wait." She pulled back.

'No.' He thought. 'No, don't break my heart again.'

"I just." She put her hand over his on the back of her head. "I don't want to rush back into it." She pulled his hand down around in front of her, and held onto it.

"What?" 'why not?' He thought. 'They were perfect together.' "But you do want to be with me?" He asked, heart in his throat. She said 'no rushing', not 'no'.

She must have heard how hopeful he was, she smiled widely and nodded. "I do. I really do." She said breathily and leaned forward kissing him again, pulling back before he could respond properly. "But, Harry, you told me you loved me. That was pretty intense, and it's a lot. Especially after I was having a … relationship with your _enemy_."

He cringed at that. "I know. And I'm not going to lie, I was obviously really wound up when I said that, and it does bother me that you were with that prick." She winced. He stroked her hand softly. "But I am still completely captivated with you, and I want to be with you."

She smiled softly down at his hands. "So, you're okay? Going slow? No broom cupboards."

"Can I ask why you're being so cautious?"

She shifted her body around so she was beside him and leaned against him. "We had a lot of secrets last time. We didn't talk about the serious stuff."

"But we can now. You know everything. More, and better, than I do. I'm sorry I kept things from you." He let go of her hand to play with a strand of her hair.

"And I'm sorry too. I _did_ feel horrible about letting you think you were the only one with something to hide."

"Hey, you got the Horcrux out of me. I think that still leaves me indebted to you." He nudged her slightly with his shoulder.

She chuckled. "Look, Harry." She put a hand over his heart, and he could feel it jumping up to meet her touch. "I just think we have a lot to talk about, there is still a war going on, and a lot of 'what ifs'."

"Okay. I can go slow." She smiled at him. "Is it still slow if I kiss you again right now? A quick one? Well, a sort of quick one?"

She leaned in and kissed him. He savored every millisecond of it before she pulled back again. There was a look to her eyes that told him she would have loved to kiss him more, but was holding back. After all they'd been through, he could be patient with her, whether it was because of the reasons she'd told him, or something more.

"Can we go somewhere warmer and discuss how much it sucks that the Order had now taken over all the planning?"

His eyes went wide. "Yes!" He said loudly. She put her hand over his mouth and chuckled.

They managed to snag the couch in front of the fireplace in the common room and whispered side by side about how much it sucked that the Order wasn't telling them anything, and also how it was kind of nice to have that off their shoulders.

Harry was reveling in the fact that they'd been sitting there, leaning against each other for over an hour, he'd even taken her hand half an hour ago, and she actually snuggled a little more _against_ him for comfort. He'd leaned down and kissed her chastely when he thought no one was looking. It made him feel amazing to be able to do that.

Harry had been staring into the fireplace, completely content watching the flames dance around when her head rested down on his shoulder. She'd fallen asleep. He kissed the top of her head and let his own lay back against the back of the couch.

()()()()()()()

It was the third week of February when Draco walked into the Slytherin common room after meeting with Snape in the Room of Requirement. They were very nearly done fixing the blasted thing, and he was ready to have this all over with. Once it was fixed he would either die that day, or get to live his life how he wanted. What he wanted right now was a nap, and to hide from that bint Tracey Davis. Just because he shagged her twice didn't mean he wanted her hanging off of him. She was just a palate cleanser, getting him back into his reality after that slip up into goodie two shoes world.

His eye caught on someone sitting at a far table of the room by themselves. He paused. He'd had one kind of palate cleansed, maybe his subconscious was telling him to get himself a clean slate too, which is why his feet made him go over to them. He stood behind the chair across from them for a few moments, wondering how to start this conversation.

"Yes?" Astoria had been studying for an Ancient Rune's test. And spoke to him with out looking up.

"I never properly explained my reasoning to you for breaking our Marriage Contract." He said quietly.

She raised her head to meet his eyes and gave him a calculating look. "And?"

"I know it is standard practice for our kind, joining of Nobel Houses and continuing the pureblood lines, however I wanted just a modicum of control over my possible future, at the time, that was the only way I could think to try and gain some of that control. I apologize if you saw it as a personal insult. That was not my intention."

"My, how you've changed." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "What brought this about?" She was studying him for some sign of an ulterior motive.

He shook his head. "Simply trying to make amends."

"Well it will take a bit more than that for what you've done to me, so forgive me if I don't simply accept your reasoning." She scowled at him.

Draco was taken aback at that. "I was giving us both the freedom of choice. Why are you so angry about that?"

"You were giving you the freedom of choice. I however have had to suffer through the torture of being essentially auctioned off to the highest bidder. The number of my potential matches is quite high apparently." She pulled a mock pleased voice. "There is 35 year-old bulbous man in Belgium that is currently winning out. But my father has high hopes that there might be a last minute offer before I turn sixteen, which, as you know, is when the ink on the contract has to be dry in order for it to be legal. Father is actually quite happy with how I've turned out to be his proverbial Golden Goose." She put her hand on top of his. "So looking forward to my wedding night."

Draco was aghast at that. He truly hadn't put any thought into what would happen to her. She was a female pureblood from a Nobel family. That alone would make her desirable, but she was also much prettier than he'd ever noticed before. "You can't refuse?" He knew the answer, but asked the question anyways.

"I refuse, I get cut off and banished. I've known my true role in our society since I was six. I am simply breeding material. Forced to take etiquette classes and learn how to be the perfect hostess since I could talk. Better to just marry and encourage my husband to have his mistresses and hope he leaves me alone once I've 'fulfilled my obligation'."

Draco felt overwhelmingly sad for her then. "Had that been what you hoped for with your Marriage Contract to me as well?"

She considered him, and her answer, carefully. He could see the wheels turning behind her eyes as she formulated a careful response. "I've paid special attention to you since your second year when I got here. My first impression of you was that you were a spoiled pretentious brat. I could have worked with that, but you've changed. We all have with 'Him' being back, but you've grown up rather quickly.

"Before my fourth year I simply accepted that you were my best option." She gestured to the few males that were loitering around them. Crabbe, Goyle and Nott in particular. "Even last year, when you were shagging every girl you could get your hands on, including my sister." She said pointedly. "I still knew you were my best option. Then you nullified the contract and I saw what else I might be saddled with." Astoria very nearly spat at that. "So, I may have expected that my marriage to you might be like that. You seem to have grown into more of a distinguished person though. Slightly. But I would have been fine with you leaving your mistresses unsatisfied rather than myself."

He did his best not to blush at that calling out. Even with Tracey he'd been rather selfish. Apparently the girls had been talking.

"It was never my intention to bring this upon you. And I am sorry that you are viewed as property, rather than a person in our circles. I only hoped to be able to marry a woman of my choosing."

She straightened out her study materials. "Well, good luck with that." She told him, not meaning it.

She seemed quite intelligent. And straight with him. Maybe he had a thing for dominating female types, because he was actually finding that he wouldn't mind being saddled with her. "When is your birthday?"

Astoria met his eyes, startled. Then lowered her eyes back to her work. "April 25th." She said quietly.

He nodded then leaned forward. "I know I've been selfish in the past, but I assure you, no one of substance would say that of me in the past year."

She met his eyes again and her eyebrows shot up. He watched as she fought to keep an amused smile off of her face before he walked away.

()()()()()

They'd gone to the Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch match together, and hung out all the time. Alone, and with all their friends. And it was all brilliant, but she was still being a little reserved about their relationship. They'd shared a few kisses, and snogged a few times too. Harry was positive he knew what was holding her back.

It was because of what happened with her and Malfoy, coupled with the fact that he'd told her he loved her, and she wasn't there yet. She was being careful with both of their feelings. He'd take what he could get.

Sirius had suggested he 'woo' her, and he'd come up with a pretty spectacular way to start that. She wasn't a flowers and jewelry kind of girl. Chocolate maybe, but he had a grand gesture in mind, and he needed Kreacher and Hermione's help with it. It was going to be amazing, he knew it was.

On March 7th at 7:00pm he'd arranged for Hermione to make sure Ginny had their dorm room to herself, he'd snuck out to Hogsmeade to get a few of the necessary items and he took his broom and flew over to her dorm with his two-way mirror in his pocket.

Ginny was sitting at her desk alone in the room when he tapped on the window. She turned to him with a smile and undid the latch to let him in. "Thought Hermione's insistence on my being here might have something to do with you." She smiled and gave him a quick kiss when he dismounted. "She was very pushy."

"Well, our evening has a schedule, couldn't attempt to try and get you alone here in a natural fashion."

"We have a schedule? Are we going somewhere? Because I am very comfy." She indicated to her pajamas. She was wearing light blue cotton bottoms and a tight purple Ilvermory t-shirt. It showed off her form quite nicely.

"We aren't going anywhere." He grinned and removed his cloak carefully, revealing that he too had pulled on his night clothes.

"Pajama party?" She asked suggestively.

"Thought we should be as comfortable as possible. Which one is your bed?"

"Um, that one." She indicated to the one closest to the desk she'd been at.

"Great. I'll just need a moment to set this up." He went to the bed and smoothed out the bedclothes near the foot and retrieved his mirror from the cloak pocket, placing it at the center against the end and pulled the hangings closed on two sides.

"What are you doing?" She asked perplexed.

He tucked his broom under the bed and pulled a small box out of his cloak, then cast a spell to return it to full size before turning back to her. "I am giving you a proper date."

"Wh-what? In my bed?"

He grinned. "Just indulge me for a moment and it will all make sense." He took her hand with his free one and directed her to sit back against her fluffed up pillows. He activated his mirror and there was an onslaught of noise that came from it. He angled it the way he wanted and cast a projection spell, and a shielding charm over it.

Nothing was projected but darkness at first and Ginny was still giving him a humorous confused look. Harry settled in beside her and pulled the third hanging closed, with the box in his lap.

"Uh, Harry?"

"Just a moment longer." Then the darkness went away and the Twentieth Century Fox intro was playing in three dimensions.

Ginny jumped slightly at the sudden music. She was looking at it wide eyed and mouth open. Harry grinned and opened the box. He had gummy candies, popcorn and butterbeers. He couldn't find soda in Hogsmeade, so that had to do. He handed her the popcorn and took the top off the butterbeers.

"How. This is amazing. How are you doing this?"

"Kreacher is at a movie theatre in London."

She giggled and hugged his side excitedly. "My God! This is so creative! I can't believe you did this! What are we watching?"

"That bit I'm not sure if I should apologize for. There were a few options, but they were mostly science fantasy or action. So we're watching Romeo and Juliet." He blushed.

"Hmm. A tragic love story, eh?" She grinned and ate some popcorn. "This is so great Harry." She looked up at him and tugged at the collar of his shirt to bring his lips down to hers. "You're amazing." She told him as she pulled back and snuggled into his side to watch the movie.

It had been a little hard to follow. There was a lot of drugs and partying, weird language. But when ever there had been snogging he couldn't help but notice how Ginny's finger would trace a pattern of sorts on his leg.

When the credits rolled he removed the spells and deactivated the mirror.

"Well, the movie choice was maybe not the best. But the idea was still amazing." She beamed at him.

Harry settled back beside her after putting all of the confectionery and the mirror away. "Yeah. I only was able to follow about half of that dialogue." He admitted.

"Hey Harry?" He looked down at her. She had a very serious expression on her face. "I'm really sorry."

"For what?"

"For what happened. For what happened with me and … him."

"You." He took a deep breath. "You don't have to apologize about that. We weren't"

She cut him off. "I want to. I want to talk about it properly and then we can move on and never talk about it again."

"Is that what's been holding us back from-from picking up where we left off?"

She was radiating nerves. That wasn't something he'd seen her do before. She must be incredibly nervous. "Yes."

"Did you like him. Like-"

"It wasn't like what I've been feeling with you. This with you and I has been great, but you need to know that I did things with him." She looked down at her lap, not being able to meet his eye.

Harry felt pretty revolted by her admission. He knew they'd probably done more than snogging. Malfoy had a reputation. This was going to be painful, he knew, but he wanted it out too. "You guys didn't have sex though."

She shook her head 'no'. "But."

He cringed. "Did you do, what we did?"

She nodded. "And. And more." She sucked in a breath harshly. "I'm just going to say it. We did oral and he fingered me." She said quickly. "But only once for each thing." Harry's heart was hammering. She'd been properly intimate with Malfoy. More than she'd been with him. "Are you mad?" She asked slowly.

Harry didn't know what he was, besides uncomfortable with this knowledge. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I'm not mad, I'm just. He got to. I don't want to accidentally say the wrong thing and have you mad at me for it. But wasn't that a bit fast?"

She sighed and looked up at the canopy. "Yep. I saw that coming. Yes. It was fast. It's just that, well we. I, got. Carried away? And I didn't regret it at the time, but I do now. And that is primarily due to the fact that if we'd just been honest with each other then…" She trailed off.

He knew where she was going with that, and he couldn't control the bit of desire that stirred in his belly at the implication. "It would have been me?"

"Yeah." She sighed.

"Do you want to do those things with me?" He asked tentatively. He was watching her face very carefully.

A slow smile came to her face. "Of course I do." She ran a hand over his knee. "You aren't bothered by it though?"

"I am a bit. But you couldn't possibly believe I wouldn't be. But I knew on some level that you'd done more with him than with me. That was confirmed when I found out the two of you had spent the night together in the Room of Requirement. I just did my best not to think about it."

"It won't be a problem for you though? Like, you can live with that being part of my history and still want to be with me?" She asked shyly.

"Yes." He didn't hesitate. "Absolutely yes." He cupped her face in his hands. "Ginny. I don't blame you, or think less of you or anything. I absolutely still want to be with you."

She smiled and kissed him. "Good. I've been worried about having to tell you that. I didn't want it to be a road block anymore."

He wrapped his arms around her. "I say we just move forward from here."

"Definitely." She shifted so she could pull him down to lay down with her. "Can we move forward right now and I can start showing you how much I appreciated your date idea?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She leaned over him and ran her hand up his torso and nuzzled into his neck. He ran his hand down her side to her bum. He'd missed that bum. He pulled her so she'd lay completely on top of him. She ran kisses up his neck to his jaw and down to his chin. Finally she got to his mouth. All of his want and passion that had built up was poured into the hot open mouth kiss he gave her.

He buried his hand in her hair and moved his other to her lower back, putting pressure there so he could feel her pelvis against his. He groaned when she ground herself against his erection. It had been almost five months to the day since they had last connected like this, and he wanted it badly.

He bucked up against her and she moaned into his mouth. Emboldened, he rolled them over and held her arms above her head with one hand and massaged her breast with the other, knowing she knew she could stop him if he was pushing her too far.

She didn't seem to mind though as she gasped and cried out in pleasure. He thrust himself along her hot center with more confidence. It was better than he remembered. Could have been because they were wearing less restrictive fabric, or how he had her pinned down, but it felt fucking amazing. She attacked his mouth while they moved together.

She curved her back and pushed herself against him and whimpered and moaned. "Yes! Right there." Oh shit that sounded so sexy. "Harry! Yes. Right there." Moaning his name made it even better. She cried out and arched her back again, pressing her breasts into him. She'd finished.

"Oh Gods Ginny, that's so hot." He panted. Her eyes opened and there was a blazing look in them that he'd never seen before. She tugged one of her hands out of his grip and snuck it under his bottoms between them in a flash, grasping his erection. His eyes rolled to the back of his head.

She raised her mouth to his ear and bit the lobe gently. "You like my thank you?" She whispered seductively.

He thrust into her fist and groaned in response. The pressure wasn't as much as he was used to when taking care of himself, but the fact that it was her hand gripping and stroking him tripled the pleasure. It felt so much hotter than rubbing up against her.

He could feel his end coming. His hips jerked uncontrollably when her thumb went over his sensitive head and he kissed her, trying to drown out the sounds emanating from his mouth. She licked his lips and he dove his tongue into her mouth. He'd expected her to let him explore her mouth with his tongue while she made him finish. He was not expecting her to suck on it. It was the most erotic thing he'd ever experienced and he shot his load almost as soon as she'd done it.

He couldn't tell how loudly he'd groaned, but the amazing climax had lingered longer than he'd experienced before. She kept stroking him gently and mimicking what her hand was doing with her mouth sucking on his tongue as well. She stopped as he fell flaccid in her hand.

"That was amazing." He buried his head in her neck trying to recover. He could feel her fumbling around for something.

"Scorgify." She cleaned up the mess he'd made. She set down her wand and stroked his back. He rolled off of her and onto his side.

"You're really good at that."

"Really?" She asked excitedly. "I wasn't too rough?"

"No. You could have been a bit rougher, and that would have been alright." He was dazed. It took a moment for him to register the tone of her question. "You didn't do that with…"

"Not that, no."

"I don't think I can move."

"You don't have to. I'd like it if you stayed here." She told him quietly.

He wanted to tell her he loved her. It was on the tip of his tongue. But he resisted, he just smiled at her and they pulled the bedclothes over them and snuggled in together. "If this is how you say thank you every time I try to woo you, I'll have to come up with a few more idea's."

She giggled and rubbed her bum against his front. He tickled her side. "Stop that." She slapped his hand, then pulled his arm tight around her.


	25. Chapter 25

Ginny woke up feeling super well rested. It had to be morning, but her hangings were drawn pretty tight and there wasn't much light coming in. A small snore behind her woke her up more. Harry had stayed the night with her. She grinned about what he'd done for their little date last night.

It was so clever and wonderful. Bad movie, but fantastic idea. Popcorn, candy and a drink to top it off! So creative.

She felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. She'd told him before, and it was still true, she was afraid she might fall in love with him, and didn't want that to happen with secrets between them. Her activities with Draco had been her last secret she'd been holding on to. Now he knew.

It had been really hard to tell him, but he took it better than she could have hoped. Now she hoped he'd be able to work with Draco when the time came to the fight against Voldemort. However they still hadn't been let into the loop with the Order on that, and Draco hadn't spoken to her at all the past two months.

Unless he was casting the glamour charms on himself, he didn't look to be stressed, or loosing sleep over it. Astoria Greengrass had been sticking quite close to him too. Ginny was actually kind of happy for him.

Not as happy as she was for herself though.

A burst of giddy excitement shivered its way through her body. Harry spent the whole night in her bed after an amazing evening together. She was not through thanking him for that. She ran through a few options on what would be the best way to wake him up.

He was spooned against her back, if she rolled over he'd wake from that movement and that wasn't the most pleasant way she could entice him awake. Not when his front was pressed so closely up against her back. She hooked her foot behind his calf and ran it gently up and down and rubbed her bum slowly against his crotch, grinning wickedly.

He moaned softly. She continued her motions with more determination. "Mmm, Ginny." He nuzzled into her neck and made movements of his own against her, wrapping his arm tighter around her middle. She rolled over then to face him.

"Sleep well?" She whispered and ran a finger down the side of his sleepy face.

"So well."" He murmured rolling onto his back and pulling her with him. She lay her hand on the lower part of his belly where his shirt had ridden up.

"Thank you again for last night." She kissed him just under his jaw.

"Next time I'll take you to the actual cinema. I've heard it's a much better experience." He pulled his arm up and around her to tuck her in closer against his side.

"You've never actually been?"

"No, I was not afforded such luxuries by the Dursley's. Got to got to the zoo once though! I, uh, accidentally set a Boa Constrictor on my cousin." They both laughed. "Accidental magic made the glass disappear." He explained.

She pulled back from his neck and gave him a kiss on his shoulder. "Do you have to go back there again? You'll legally be an adult this summer. You could go stay with Sirius instead, right?"

"I hadn't thought. I think he'd be okay with me staying there." He said and furrowed his brow.

Ginny snorted. "You think? Of course he would! My mum would be okay if you moved into the Burrow too."

He looked down at her and grinned. "Oh. I don't know. Might be too soon for me to live with my girlfriend."

She gave him a playful shove and reached for her wand to check the time. "Seven. Geez, we had a solid nine hours."

He trailed a hand along the skin exposed beneath the hem of her shirt. "We'll be properly rested for practice today." He lowered himself down on the bed and kissed the exposed skin. She rolled over on her back and he continued kissing along her stomach. She buried her fingers in his hair and hummed with pleasure as he raised her shirt up more and more kissing and nuzzling every uncovered area.

Her stomach made a gurgle and she grinned. "Feeding time." She said unabashed. He chuckled and kept right on going with what he'd been doing."Right Potter." She said, but whatever was about to come out of her mouth next was cut off by her own small moan as he traced the underside of her breast with his tongue. She arched her back slightly at the sensation and he took that encouragement to move over to the next one.

He settled in between her legs to explore more but she pulled under his arms to bring him up on top of her and kiss him properly, wrapping her legs around him in the process. He pressed himself against her and she groaned at the contact. He did it again. He ran his thumb in a circle pattern on her hip and slid his hand around behind her to duck it into her bottoms and grabbed her bare bum. She hummed in approval at the gesture and rocked against him. His fingers dipped a little lower and more towards her center, until they brushed right up against it.

They both paused and he pulled back from her lips to look her in the eyes and make sure that this was okay. Her eyes looked a little glazed over, but she raised her hand and grabbed her wand, recasting the Muffliato charm to keep any sounds from being heard by her dorm mates.

She wanted him to keep on going. And boy, did he ever want to keep going. He leaned in and kissed her again, stretching his arm down so he could get more range of movement for his hand and he brushed against her again. She whimpered a moan at the gentle touch. He ran his index finger along her slit and she bucked up against him. He did it again and she tilted her head back on the pillow and pushed down against his hand.

"Is this-"

"More" She cut him off.

He shifted a bit so he could use his shoulder to bear his weight and explored her folds with two fingers. "God. It's so." He didn't have the words to describe it. Warm. Wet. Confusing. He'd never done this before, and didn't know what it was he was doing exactly. She must have understood that he was unsure of what it was exactly that he was supposed to be doing. She pulled his hand out from behind her and shifted their bodies so he would have better access from the front. His hand went under her clothes again. She directed him with one hand on top of her pajamas.

When he dipped a finger inside her for the first time, he thought he was going to explode in his pants. It was so hot and tight. He was supposed to be able to fit himself in there? Holy fuck, that would feel amazing. She was rocking against his hand and biting her lip. He desperately wanted to add another finger. So he did. She let out a squeak, but kept moving against him. He adjusted so that his fingers would pump inside her with more ease.

She shook her head. "No. Need pressure here." She pushed his palm against her mound. "Clit." She mumbled and then let out a moan.

His knowledge of female anatomy was sorely lacking. Male pornography was all about pumping inside her. Apparently girls needed the grinding motions. Noted. Either way this was entirely exciting.

Ginny was reveling in the sensations Harry was giving her. His fumbling around in itself was giving her a little thrill. He'd never done this before, and he was doing it for the first time with her! She was more than happy to give him instruction on this. His fingers were curling inside her at the perfect spot, and his palm where it was was almost giving her the feeling she was accustomed to when doing this herself. He kept getting her worked up and then moving his hand a bit that was putting her back to the beginning of her heightened arousal to start it building all over again.

Harry watched her as she had this flush to her face that seemed so much more intense than when he was grinding up against her. Though when they did that he was caught up in how amazing it felt for him too. Her mouth was slack and her breathing was ragged. It was fascinatingly sexy. He saw her tongue dart out of her mouth and he couldn't help the image popping into his head of her taking care of him with that tongue. He swallowed hard and tried to resist the urge to use his free hand to stroke himself.

"Uh." She moaned. "Need. Need you to."

"Need what. Anything." He told her desperately. He would do anything she needed to make this feel better for her. She couldn't seem to talk though. She stuck her hand under her bottoms too and put her fingers under his hand where his palm was resting and traced circles there.

"Keep going. Please." She panted.

He looked down at what they were doing. He kept pumping his fingers in and out of her and watching her touching herself too. She was rocking harder against him and arching her back more. This was more intense for her than how he'd gotten her off last night. She sucked in a breath and he felt her get even more impossibly tight around him and a new slickness was on his fingers. She let out a breathy gasp and clutched at his shirt with the hand that wasn't down her front as she finished.

He couldn't control himself any more. She was just starting to relax as he withdrew his hand and took her hand off his shirt and pushed it down his own trousers so she would grasp his own sex and used her hand to jerk him off. It only took three strokes until he was done. He let out a relieved grunt and relaxed back on the bed. It hadn't been as satisfying as the night before, he was still entirely worked up, but it took care of some of the pressure.

She left her hand in his pants and rolled on her side against him. "Wow."

"Yeah." He sighed. "Wow." He turned his head to her and kissed her forehead. They cuddled together and enjoyed the sleepy afterglow.

Her stomach grumbled again. Loudly this time. They both chuckled. "Okay." She yawned and removed her hand, and got up on her elbow looking down at him. "I'm kicking you out."

"What? Why?" He asked worried.

She gave him a big smile and leaned over to kiss his nose. "Because you have to fly back to your dorm, and I need to take a quick shower after that."

He grinned. "Then breakfast?"

She pulled back the hangings and slipped out to check if her dorm mates would be up to catch him sneaking out. All of their hangings were pulled too. She indicated to Harry that it was clear for him to leave. He grabbed his broom and she handed him his cloak, then went up on her toes to his ear.

"Give me ten minutes." She went to pull back, but he wrapped on arm around her back and pulled her into a mind melting kiss. It was slow and thorough.

He let her go and gave her a cheeky wink before hopping out the window. She grinned stupidly to herself as she went to the shower.

She was so relieved. After confessing to him how far she'd gone with Draco in their short time together she'd felt like she was floating. It had been incredibly awkward to broach that subject with him, but it was what was holding her back in their relationship now.

Already things with the two of them had been so much easier than last time. No doubt Harry would still be a little torn up about how much she'd done with Draco, she would be if she found out he'd done the same with another girl, say, Pansy Parkinson. But it would have been so much worse to find out something like that way down the line, as if he'd been intentionally keeping it form her to protect her feelings.

She would have been pissed. So, she hadn't wanted t to go any further with him until it had been laid out on the table. Now he knew, and he could deal with his feelings about it. Hopefully he'd talk to her about any issues he had.

As she washed her hair her thoughts turned to Draco. They hadn't spoken in two months now. He had had a few girls hanging off of him over the past month. Tracey Davis initially. Pansy Parkinson still hadn't given up her pursuit, and most recently, and surprisingly, Astoria Greengrass.

He'd nullified their betrothal contract, and supposedly she'd hated him for that, and yet Ginny had seen them at meals looking quite familiar with each other.

Every now and then Ginny did feel a twinge of regret, not because she missed him romantically, but because they had been friends of some sort. Because of that she worried about him. Having someone to snog in a broom cupboard was one thing, she hoped he had someone to talk to as well. Snape was hardly someone he could joke around with and discuss Quidditch and other things to take his mind off of his awful task.

Blaise Zabini would have been a good friend probably. He had made her laugh out loud quite a few times since their little corridor discussion in early January. Waggling his eyebrows when she chatted casually with any male, and his faces to portray his opinion on that male.

She finished up in the bathroom and went to get dressed to meet Harry in the Common Room. Hermione was just waking.

"How was your evening?" She winked poorly.

Ginny snickered and pulled a mock shocked face. "A lady doesn't discuss such things."

"That good huh?" She sighed wistfully. "I wish Ron would do something like that for me."

"Hold out on him. Works like a charm." Ginny grinned mischievously.

"Are you holding out on Harry?" She asked surprised.

"Not anymore." She winked before walking out of the dorm.

()()()()()()()()

Draco gave a final satisfied grunt and rolled off of an equally satisfied Astoria. He'd made sure of it.

This hadn't been the first time he'd woken up in her bed, but last night had been their first time having sex, her first time all together. If he'd taken one thing from his time with Ginny, it had been how enjoyable it had been to experience everything else there was to offer from a woman's body.

As it had turned out, Astoria Greengrass was on her way to becoming a hell of a woman. Driven, beautiful, shrewd, pureblood, and willing to forgive him his indiscretions. Never in a million years did he think his father would have actually chosen well for him.

If ever there was the opportunity, he had a lot of questions he needed answered from that man.

He'd come across Astoria studying in their common room shortly after he'd gotten bored of Tracey and for some reason, he'd felt compelled to clear the air between them. From then on they had sat studying together, which developed into him kissing her goodnight, then to broom closets, then he proved to her that to him, she was a woman of substance.

"Who was she?"

Astoria's voice bought him back to present. "Who was who?"

"The other one. Of substance. From what I understand, you were celibate for a while. With the Slytherin's at least. I assume that was actually when she was teaching you a thing or two."

He found her hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing the back. "I can promise you two things right now. One is that I will tell you eventually, I just can't right now for several reasons that have nothing to do with you. And secondly, that she and I are completely done, and she will not be one of my 'future mistresses'." He teased.

Astoria rolled onto her side to face him, chuckling lightly. "Fine. Keep your secrets for now. I'll just need to know eventually so I can send her a 'thank-you' note."

He grinned in response, rather proud of himself for being capable of giving her such a satisfactory introduction to sex.

He had wondered how long it would take for him to 'get over' losing Ginny. Losing someone to simply 'be' with was the hard part.

Unfortunately, shagging Tracey hadn't been nearly as satisfying as that first week back at school after the holiday had been. He would have been better off wanking. Astoria had really turned him on his head though.

It had only been three weeks since she'd told him off in the common room, and he'd already contacted the Goblins to review the nullified Marriage Contract for any reason that it might have been out of his legal right to nullify it. The fact that he hadn't been seventeen was enough.

Astoria's father had been furious with him because he wasn't getting his pay day. That had probably been why he had let Draco get away with it in the first place. That and that his family was known Death Eaters.

Astoria on the other hand had gotten quite emotional. She had simply thanked him when he told her and walked away. Not before he caught her face flush and her eyes glisten though. She showed him her proper appreciation by snogging him thoroughly later on when she'd collected herself. Such emotions were not to be shown in proximity to their house mates.

He had not told her anything of his role with the Death Eaters, but she had seen his mark. She'd put her hand over it to hide it from her sight and looked questioningly into his eyes. She must have seen what she wanted to see reflected in them, because she said nothing about it. He could tell they would make a good team in marriage.

Once the battle was done, he'd tell her everything.

It seemed that the battle may be upon them sooner than he'd anticipated as well. With Severus' aid, the cabinet was much closer to being ready for human transport than he would have been capable of doing himself. He could only hope that everything would go as smoothly as they hoped.

Severus had discussed with him what the Order had planned. To either side of this war he was just a facilitator. He was trying to be okay with that role, but there was a lot of weight on his shoulders from both directions. _He_ had to let the Death Eaters in, the _He_ had to get the Order to the Manor. If _He_ did neither of these things, then this war might drag on forever.

()()()()()()()

Harry was following behind Ginny at a safe distance. They'd still been a little careful about who knew about their relationship. Trying not to be overly friendly in public, which he was finding particularly hard when all he wanted to do was grab her and snog her brains out, especially now that she let him.

She'd let him, and encouraged him, to do quite a bit this past week that he'd only dreamed of, since their movie night once she'd told him the real reason she'd been holding back. It had been hard to hear, but on some level he was glad to know. On another level... it was hard to know. But she was being completely honest with him and having it out there it was like she was committing herself to him some how. Admitting that she was all in on their relationship, and he was deliriously happy about that.

He was currently following her under his invisibility cloak to hopefully do a little more heavy petting before she got too involved with her homework, which he should probably be doing too.

Ginny went into an empty classroom and he heard her let out a surprised exclamation. Then he heard her say "Hey."

He ducked into the classroom behind her and saw it was actually Malfoy she'd found there. He was sitting at a desk by the windows on the other side of the room, seemed to be hesitating about what to do with the situation he found himself in.

"Hello." He replied cautiously.

She appeared to be rather amused with his demeanor. "How've you been?"

He eyed her skeptically. "I'll leave." He stood up and grabbed his bag.

"Seriously? All I asked was 'how've you been' and you bolt?" Ginny asked, rolling her eyes.

He halted his clean up of parchment and gave her dead eyes. "I've been fine. How have you been?" He asked monotonously.

She didn't take the bait, instead she pulled out her books from her bag casually and answered the question. "I've been pretty great. School-wise, Quidditch-wise, and otherwise." She looked back up from her bag at him and gave him a smile. "See you've been getting on well with Astoria. Gotta say. Didn't see that one coming."

It sounded like she was teasing him lightly in jest. Harry wondered if she knew he was there with them. He couldn't tell if she was putting on a show, or actually trying to be friendly.

"As it turns out, I was remiss to overlook her previously." Draco seemed to be conflicted about whether to continue this conversation with her.

She looked pleased with that answer. "So you actually like her then?" She grinned.

He pulled on his signature sneer. "You didn't expect me to _pine_ , did you?"

She rolled her eyes at him and dropped her smile. "Knock it off, you dick. Of course I didn't. We would never have worked, you were right about that. But remember way back, when we were friend type people and you were less of an ass to me?"

Harry was amused at how the names she called Draco managed to sound like terms of endearment, but less amused at the thought of them being 'friend type people' again.

Draco stood still, assessing her and breathing heavily through his nose.

"I'd still like to know every now and then that you're doing okay." She told him seriously.

"What would you boyfriend have to say about this?" He asked her with malice in his voice.

Ginny shrugged. "Ask him yourself, he's right behind me."

Draco's eyes darted to Harry's general vicinity. Harry removed the cloak and Draco's eyes narrowed at him. Harry too shrugged. "I didn't know you'd be in here. I came to see her." He explained and inclined his head to Ginny as he stepped beside her.

She looked up at him with understanding eyes and put a hand on his lower back to assure him. "I assumed as much."

Draco turned back to Ginny, looking like he had a new purpose to be there. "Astoria actually wanted me to thank you. Apparently I learned a few things over our time together that she very much appreciates." He looked to Harry smugly then, and Harry felt his blood boil at the implication.

"Oh, Draco. Don't be that guy." Ginny tutted him with distaste written over her face. "If you really want to turn this into a pissing contest I'll be forced to tell you a thing or two you _really_ won't like about certain comparisons between the two of you." She nodded towards Harry's groin.

Harry's eyebrows shot up at that. He smiled, both at the insinuation, and at how it was such a 'boy-type' response. Having six brothers and two male best friends, though the comment had been more Ethan than Neville, she really knew how to hurt a guy. He chose to ignore how she would in fact know which of them was bigger.

"But honestly. Glad you're happy with her. Can we have the room now?" She dismissed him.

Draco pursed his lips and left the room.

After the door closed Harry cast a silencing charm on the door.

"Sorry about that." Ginny told him sitting down on the desk.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." He moved towards her and couldn't stop myself from asking. "Am I really bigger than him?" He had a shy smile on his face.

She let out a full belly laugh and shook her head. "I honestly don't know. I hadn't thought about it." She thought a moment and shook her head slightly. "Not a noticeable difference that I can think of." She took in the expression on his face. "What? Did you want me to lie?"

"I'd prefer that you didn't know all together, but what's done is done. And we're back together now."

She gave a determined nod. "As it should be."

"Definitely as it should be." He kissed her nose. "He does seem to be a little sour over it." He commented. She grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him to her.

"I know him a little better than that. He's still sour, yes, but it isn't because he and I didn't work out, and I don't think it's because you and I are together either. He's got a girlfriend, and it seems he's actually getting on well with her. He's sour because he's lonely."

She had her hands running over his shoulders and back as she told him this. She did that a lot when they talked alone. He didn't think she realized how often she did it, or that it was her body's initial response to their proximity, just automatically touching him wherever she could. He did though, and it felt bloody amazing. Next her hand was going to snake into his hair. Yep, there it went. Absentmindedly scratching his scalp and turning him on.

"Lonely?" He asked as she made his eyes close with her magic touches.

She hummed in assent and nuzzled his neck. "Think about it. What actual friends does he have? You and I are constantly surrounded by them. Meanwhile he has Snape, who is not the most cuddly conversationalist, and now Astoria, who he's probably not told all of his problems to."

"So why was he so rigid with you then?"

She snorted and he opened his eyes to see the incredulous smile on her face. "Because he's a Malfoy and a Slytherin. My history with him dates back to September, there was years of behavioral and emotional conditioning before I came along being all brash and amazing." She batted her eyelashes at him.

Harry just leaned forward and kissed her, not having a response to that, and not wanting to waste anymore time talking about Draco Malfoy. She kissed him back and wrapped her legs around his hips and they both lost themselves in each other.

()()()

Draco closed his eyes when he shut the door to the classroom behind them. He needed a second to collect himself.

That had been a low blow on his part to mention Astoria's appreciation in front of Potter like that. And he certainly deserved Ginny taking him down a peg with their manhood comparison. She _was_ the only one who would know that answer to that one.

Angry as Potter looked before she'd said it, that hadn't been the face of someone who'd just discovered his girlfriend had been intimate with another guy. She'd told him about their relations.

He couldn't help giving a small smile at how she'd called him an ass. And a dick. He missed that brutal honesty, told in the most tender way possible with splashes of profanity.

Shaking his head he made his way to find somewhere else quiet to complete his assignments.

Unknown to Draco, there was someone lurking in the shadows who had seen Ginny Weasley head into that classroom, and only Ginny Weasley. Then watched and waited until Draco Malfoy exited a few minutes later. The smile that had played around on Draco's lips before he headed off down the hall told this person all they had needed to know.

()()()()()()

It was the week before Easter and Albus Dumbledore stood in front of all of them, easily as nervous as they all were, but not showing it.

"It's time."

It's time. It's time. It's time.

There was no echo in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. There may as well have been as every member of the Order that knew about the plan of attack had those two words repeat in their head. Their Protean charmed coins had told them that they were needed at Order Headquarters and one by two they all showed up looking prepared, and slightly nervous.

"Were are the children?" Molly Weasley asked Dumbledore.

"The majority of the school is at the Quidditch Game. Including your children." Dumbledore promised her. He had given exactly one charmed coin to a student, and that was Draco Malfoy. And even that had been because there was simply no way around it.


	26. Chapter 26

**Shout out to the one guest reader who guessed who it was that had been spying.**

 _"It's time."_

 _It's time. It's time. It's time._

 _There was no echo in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. There may as well have been as every member of the Order that knew about the plan of attack had those two words repeat in their head. Their Protean charmed coins had told them that they were needed at Order Headquarters and one by two they all showed up looking prepared, and slightly nervous._

 _"Were are the children?" Molly Weasley asked Dumbledore._

 _"The majority of the school is at the Quidditch Game. Including your children." Dumbledore promised her. He had given exactly one charmed coin to a student, and that was Draco Malfoy. And even that had been because there was simply no way around it._

 _()()()()_

Draco was waiting with sweaty palms outside of the Room of Requirement waiting for the Order.

The owl had come that morning. Burke had confirmed with both himself and Greyback that one more spell and the wardrobe would be ready for transport. Draco had grabbed his black cloak, his wand, and given Astoria one more kiss before possibly walking to his death.

Wasn't this all supposed to be Harry Potter's job? Where was he? Oh, right. He was playing Quidditch with Ginny.

Snape came down the hallway and they stood side by side, waiting for the rest of them. "Are you ready for this?"

"Do I have a choice?" Draco bit back at him. Then he sighed. "You have the potions?"

"Of course."

"Then I guess that means we are both ready for this."

They heard people approaching. For whatever reason, Draco had not considered just how many of the Weasley's would show up but there was a whole flock of them. Five at least. Three boys and two parents. The former DADA Professor, Lupin, was there too, the werewolf. Also a girl he didn't recognize with turquoise hair and a rather nice set of breasts, she was in her early twenties.

"Heyya, Draco." She said as she drew close.

"Do I know you?"

"Nope, but I'm your cousin."

"So are they if you go back far enough." He gestured to the Weasleys.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'm your _first_ cousin." Her hair turned pink.

Now he knew who she was. "Aunt Andromeda's kid."

"Let us save introductions for later shall we?" Snape drawled. "If you could?" He gestured for Draco to open the door, and he did so and led everyone inside.

Nymphadora Tonks caught the door with her foot after the Weasley's went in. "I'll wait here for the others."

Draco nodded at her. They must have studied Sirius Black's model fairly closely, as neither he, nor Snape, had needed to guide them to the Cabinet. Draco had been told where he was to guide the Death Eaters that came through, he went there first.

Three of the Weasley boys were there laying down Rune Stones. The one that he didn't know was supervising and instructing.

"Done this before?" Draco asked him, trying to hide his nerves under his sarcasm.

The older Weasley didn't bite though. He smirked over his shoulder at him. "Set up? No. Brought down? Once or twenty times."

"Our brother here is a Curse Breaker for Gringotts." One of the twins said.

"Isn't he so dreamy?" The other faked swooning.

"So dreamy." The other concurred.

"How else would he have scored himself a Veela bride?"

"Triwizard champion Veela bride." The other corrected.

"Fleur Delacour is with you?" Draco asked astounded and impressed, completely unable to hide it.

The curse breaker gave him a sideways look. "I believe we are here for more than to gossip. Back at it. Fred, that one is too far in, move it back." Fred moved his Rune Stone back out further. "So, you will be trapped in her with everyone, and will be caught in the cross fire." Draco already knew this. Snape would be caught as well.

"We'll do our best not to knock you out." One of the twins, maybe George, promised him.

The curse breaker turned to him. "You'd better not, or we'll all be fucked." Both the twins looked at him and nodded, appearing more serious than Draco had ever seen them before. "You need to try and get to here when the firing starts." He gestured to a small alcove that would shield him from any hexes from above.

Draco nodded. The curse breaker checked his watch. "It's almost time. You'd better get back to the cabinet." He put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "You can do this."

Draco's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the encouragement he was getting from this man. Normally he would hate to be infantilized like that, but there was something about the way this Weasley said it that was comforting. Must have come naturally after having so many younger siblings.

Draco simply nodded again and turned back to head to the cabinet.

"What did you tell it?" He heard his cousin ask.

"Don't worry Tonks. I just told it to tell him to piss off should he show up." Sirius Black rounded the corner with you. "Ah! Draco Malfoy. Fancy meeting you here! Been put in your place by any feisty gingers lately?" He smiled.

Draco sneered at him. "Ah, Sirius Black. Made any inappropriate passes at other men's women lately?"

"Matter of fact I have. Eh, Tonks? You just tell me when and we can leave ol' Mooney in our dust." He quipped back, smiling roguishly at the woman beside him.

She responded by smacking him on the back of his head. "Stay focused." She turned to Draco. "You need to get in position."

He clenched his jaw in response and carried on his way.

Snape was standing by the cabinet with Kingsley Shacklebot, a reputable Auror Draco had seen in the prophet a few times. "Draco Malfoy I presume." Kingsley held out his hand. Draco took it and nodded. "Good. I know you've heard the plan already, but I want to go over it one more time. We've drilled it into everyone else's head."

"Please." Draco said, telling him to continue. He'd been over it a million and one times with Snape, and ran through it in him mind several times a day, but would not turn down the opportunity to go over it one more time with someone in charge.

"Once the Death Eaters come through the cabinet, yourself and Severus will lead them to the trap. There are going to be two Order members disillusioned above you." Draco looked up at Kingsley's indication and saw Professor Lupin and the Weasley Patriarch hovering above him.

"Once either all of you are in the circle, or the majority are, we will enact the final stone and all will be trapped under. Myself and the rest of the order members here will begin firing right away. We will aim to incapacitate and stun, not kill. Yourself and Severus will have to try to duck out of the way as fast as possible. You will not engage in the fight against the Death Eaters lest they somehow make it out."

He paused to make sure Draco heeded his words. "We will then use Polyjuice Potion on all the primary Death Eaters and go back through the cabinet to Knockturn Alley where Mad-Eye, Dumbledore and a few others will be waiting. Snape must be the first one back through, otherwise they will start throwing hexes and curses right away. Understood?"

Draco indicated he understood. They only had five minutes left before noon. "Once in Knockturn Alley the Order members there will take Polyjuice as well and we will go to Malfoy Manor by Side Apparation. You have the ability to take more than one person?" Again Draco nodded. "Once there we will need to get the lay of the situation. We don't know what exactly we are walking into. There may be more Death Eaters there, he may have hostages or hold you or one of us at wand point. You must act as though you just completed your task. I don't care if he makes you hex your mother, you must behave like you are still a loyal Death Eater. Whatever happens, we will only have a limited time before the Polyjuice wears off, so whatever will happen, will happen in that time frame. We will have a replica of Dumbledore's wand for you to present if asked for proof."

Draco swallowed hard and gripped his wand tight. They all had to kill the snake before they could kill Voldemort.

"Okay. Any questions?" He shook his head. "Just do your best, get them to the trap, we'll do the rest." Kingsley nodded to Snape and headed off in the direction of the trap.

Draco stood in front of the cabinet and looked up at the two on brooms above him. They were looking over towards where the trap was set up. Draco rested back against the vanity to try and compose himself. His hands had started shaking slightly.

"It is time." Snape said.

Draco turned to him and looked up at the fliers again. They gave him the thumbs up and disappeared. The brooms were still visible, but if asked he could say they had always been hovering there. He stepped towards the cabinet and cast the final spell and stepped back.

They waited a full minute before there was a 'Shwoop' noise and the door opened to reveal Amycus Carrow, followed closely by her brother Alecto. Bellatrix, Corban Yaxley, Gibbon, Rowle, and Greyback was the last one through.

"All here?" Snape asked calmly.

Bellatrix spoke for the group. Her hair and eyes were as crazy has he remembered. Her mind seemed to be permanently damaged from generations of inbreeding and Dementors. "All ready. Let's go make Dumbledore cry before my nephew kills him." She turned to Draco and trailed a finger under his chin.

"Let's go." Draco said through clenched teeth, doing his best not to make a face of disgust from her touch and proximity.

"What is this room?" Alecto asked staring around in wonder.

"A labyrinth, so follow closely or get stuck behind." Draco growled at him. He led the way and Snape nodded at each of them as they passed him and he took up the rear.

A right at the end of their aisle, past two openings on the left, one more right and that entire aisle would be encompassed in the trap.

It took a lot of focus to not peer upwards at the stacks to see if he could notice anyone hiding there. None of the Death Eaters had yet noticed the two brooms either. He allowed himself a glance back and saw they were quite interested in looking at the cluttered stacks. He could see Snape turn into the aisle as Draco approached the alcove that had been pointed out for him to take cover under.

Draco flinched when the final Rune was put in place and a wave of light went up in a dome over them. He jerked to the side as he heard a succession of popping sounds and spells being cast.

He'd been told not to engage, but his wand was in his hand and he cast a Protego right away, and seeing as his Aunt had immediately rounded on him with her wand out, it had been a good call.

What ever spell she'd been about to say, it didn't make it past her lips before she fell to the ground as something splattered the side of her head. And just like that, it was all over. Had it even been ten seconds?

Draco stayed crouched in his spot staring lost in thought at the bodies on the ground until the Weasley Mother stood in front of him.

"You can come out now." She gave him a kind, tight smile.

"That was… are we sure they're all out?" It had taken him longer to walk them to the trap than for them to fall to the ground. He had been expecting more of a battle. Had they been so sure that he would just do as asked?

He stepped out of the alcove and Mrs. Weasley patted his hand. A gesture he found odd. The whole Weasley family was just so bent on comforting. Even the twins grinned at him before they continued popping more of the paintballs at the bodies sprawled along the ground.

"Oi! That one was too close to me." Tonks told them off. She was collecting hairs as one of the twins fired of a round at Rowle's face.

"Sorry!" He replied happily and went off to join his brother, who was firing a succession of rounds at Greyback.

"We won't be able to use the Polyjuice on him." Snape pointed to the, now potion covered, werewolf.

"We will have to say he died." Kingsley concurred. "Dumbledore would have thought him to be the biggest threat to the students and took his life before Draco took his. Understood?" He told the group.

"Understood." The twins shouted together putting their free hand to their forehead in salute.

Draco's lip twitched at that. This part may have been easier than he expected, but now he had to face Voldemort again. He was wearing his dragon hide vest again, just in case.

"Alright. Everyone got your hairs?" Tonks asked.

There was a resounding response of 'yes's' and nods. "Alright, lets get back to the cabinet."

There had only been seven Death Eaters there, and one of them was Greyback. So only six of the nine Order members had hairs. Snape and Draco didn't require them, so unless there were more Death Eaters back in Knockturn Alley, some of them would have to stay behind.

The oldest Weasley boy deactivated the trap and the former Professor and Mr. Weasley landed. They both took the hairs from the twins.

"Hey!"

"You'll not be going if you don't have to." Their father told them. "If we're not back after an hour, you two will need to come back here and make sure these people stay under." The twins weren't happy with that, but agreed.

"Let's go." Kingsley told them.

Draco went to follow behind Snape back to the cabinet. He saw another wave of light out of the corner of his eye as the stone must have been moved back into place.

In front of the cabinet Snape summoned cups and divided out the potion in his flask, holding it from one person to the next. They had all donned their impersoned's cloak. Tonk's taking on the likeness of his Aunt, who he would have to stand with at all times.

Once they'd all transformed, save for the twins, Severus went through the cabinet, followed by himself.

Passing through the cabinet hadn't felt like Floo, or Apparation. It was like passing through a cold waterless rush of water. Like cool air blasting you from all sides, and then he found himself standing in the dark and depressing store front of Borgin and Burkes.

Mad Eye nodded at him and promptly grabbed him by the collar and shoved him out of the way. The six Death Eaters followed behind him, and the twins and Professor Lupin.

The floor of the store was littered with Death Eaters as well. At least six more. He saw Dolohov was one of them. He was another higher ranking one. Dumbledore came to stand in front of Draco and presented him with the replica of his wand.

"You've done well so far Draco. Not much longer now and it will all be over. One way or the other." His headmaster told him.

Draco was still having trouble finding words. He took the wand and followed Snape to the exit. Snape paused there and looked back. Draco followed his lead and watched the rest of the Order transform into those on the floor.

Snape opened the door and went to the middle of the alley, he indicated for Draco to stand still at one spot and moved six feet away from him and offered his arm to several of the Death Eaters coming out of the shop.

Draco did the same, now unsure of who was actually who under the potion. He had six people to side apparate. Snape had nine. He closed his eyes tight and pictured exactly where he wanted to arrive on the Manor property.

Determination, Deliberation, Destination. For the love of Merlin, don't let anybody splinch.

He heard Snape crack out of existence in the alley. He followed suit immediately.

He felt the ground under his feet was softer than it had been a moment ago and hands on his arms removed immediately. There was a delighted cackle from his Aunts mouth that was a dead on impersonation.

Draco opened his eyes in surprise at the sudden noise. Tonks was well in character. She was nearly dancing towards the house and Draco hastened to keep up with her. She ruffled a hand through his hair when he did come up beside her.

"You did a wonderful job." He quickly patted his hair back into place and pointed her toward the doors to the ballroom.

She burst through them and ignored the dozen or so other Death Eaters in the room, headed straight for Voldemort. How she knew that was exactly what the real Bellatrix would do must have come from direction from Snape. She was very good at this. She stopped ten feet away from him and fell to her knees in front of him.

"My Lord. It is done. The fool Dumbledore is dead!" She said with glee in her voice. "My nephew completed his task. Not before loosing Greyback." She turned back to Draco and cast a threatening glare.

Voldemort rose from his throne and came forward guiding Bellatrix to stand. She curtsied slightly and moved to stand next to Draco's father. Voldemort studied Draco. He knew he was outwardly showing his terror more than he should, but was fighting to calm himself.

"No need to be nervous young Draco. You did better than I had anticipated. Losing Greyback was no bother. He was just a werewolf after all." Voldemort returned to the front of the room. "I would like to congratulate all of the Death Eaters that were with our youngest recruit here. Tell me Draco. How did it happen?"

Draco took a breath to steady his voice. "We made it to the Headmasters office and surrounded him. He was occupied with trying to take down Greyback, he didn't see me casting the killing curse behind him."

"Ah! Some would call that cowardly. I say you take every opportunity provided to you." Voldemort did indeed look quite pleased with the tale. "And, his wand?"

Bellatrix snatched the wand from Draco and rushed forward to him, presenting it with both hands, and bowing as she retreated back.

Peter Pettigrew popped his head in through the door behind Voldemort, who turned and acknowledged him.

"Yes. Very well done Draco. You have proven your family's loyalty to me today." He retreated back to stand beside his throne once more. "And now you will prove yours, your final test." His amusement turned sinister as Pettigrew led two people into the room.

There was a very low inhale of breath around the room.

()()()()()()()()

Harry and Ron were headed back to the castle with most of the Quidditch team. Hermione had caught up with them and Ron swung his arm around her and gave her a kiss. Ginny had opted to head to the change room to clean up after the game and Harry wished she were there for him to swing his arm over, but he was still riding a high from their win and looking forward to seeing her later, hopefully for some alone time celebration too.

They all laughed and reenacted key points from the game as they made it up to Gryffindor Tower and Ron called dibs on the shower first so Harry fell back on his bed and waited. He sat up and pulled off his jersey and went to pull a clean shirt from his trunk and grabbed the Maurauders Map to see if Ginny was on her way back yet. He followed the path from the entrance back to the tower and didn't see her dot.

But a name jumped out at him on the seventh floor. Remus Lupin was there. Harry heart gave a jump. Remus could have a few reasons to be there, surely. He quickly scanned the area and saw Nymphadora Tonks disappear into the Room or Requirement. Kingsley Shacklebot was coming around the corner too. And Sirius Black. There was only one reason that Sirius would be there.

It was time.

For a brief moment he was furious that no one had thought to let him know.

But then, how would they have?

Ron stepped out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam and Harry stared at him, trying to think through what they should do.

"Alright mate?"

He still couldn't talk for a moment, and just stared. "It's time. It's happening." He pointed to the map.

Ron looked from him to the map and back again. Realization settled in. "Now? Right now? You're sure." He asked coming over to look at the map.

"Tonks, Remus, Kingsley and Sirius all went into the Room. Why else would they do that? It's been mapped." Harry told him trying to think through what his next move should be.

Ron rushed to his trunk and threw his towel on his bed, forgoing modesty at the moment, while he pulled on fresh clothes.

Harry grabbed the map and his wand. Hermione was in her dorm. He grabbed his broom. "Meet us in the common room. And grab my cloak." He told Ron before jumping out the window.

He raced over to Hermione and Ginny's dorm and knocked on the window pane aggressively until Hermione opened it. "Ginny isn't here Harry." She smiled as he landed.

"I know. But it's time. I saw the Order heading into the Room." The words tumbled out of his mouth.

She bristled and colour drained from her face. "You're sure? There could be no other reason?"

"I'm not going to wait around to find out." He headed over to Ginny's trunk and fished around for her vial of Basilisk Venom.

"What are you doing?'

"I'm taking this." He held up the vial. "And going to wait outside of the room with the invisibility cloak in case the worst happens." He shuddered a bit, not delving too deep into what the worst that could happen would be exactly.

Hermione raced to her desk and grabbed her hair tie and wand. "Let's go."

"You're sure you want to?" She gave him a look. She'd been there along side him and Ron since first year. Of course she wouldn't let them go on their own now. Harry left his broom under Ginny's bed and stepped out of the dorm room.

He knew the stairs would turn to a slide right away, so he slid down and landed feet first at the bottom and Hermione fell against him a moment later.

Ron was waiting. "Right. We'll tell that lot that we're running out for butterbeer if anyone asks." Ron said and handed Harry the cloak.

As casually as they could manage they crossed the common room. Harry and Ron received a few pats on the back, but no one stopped them, or questioned where they were going.

On the other side of the portrait hole they ran to the seventh floor.

"Do we go in?" Hermione asked as they stared at the wall.

"One of you Harry?" Barnabus the Barmy asked from his portrait.

"Er, yeah." Harry had never heard this portrait talk before.

"Right. Got a message for you. Say's 'Piss off'." Barnabus nodded.

"Someone told you specifically to tell him to 'Piss off'?" Ron asked.

"Yes. Tall sandy haired mustached fellow."

"That doesn't sound like Remus." Harry said.

"Right. Said that if you said that, to tell you that if, and only if, you had the ginger and the bird." Barnabus nodded to Ron and Hermione. "That Snivellus could probably get you where you needed to go."

The three Gryffindor's looked between each other. Snape would have been in the Room with the rest of them. Shouldn't he?

"Floo!" Harry realized. "His grate is probably hooked up to Malfoy Manor."

They raced to the DADA classroom and into the office.

"Ron. You check the desk. Hermione, you check the shelves for the Floo Powder." Harry went straight to the mantle.

"Okay, so say we actually get there, right? And there are a bunch of Death Eaters on the other side of the grate, wands pointed." Ron ran through potential problems as he searched around the desk pulling open drawers.

"Or Voldemort himself." Hermione agreed, while she continued her search ripping books out of the shelves.

"There is also the chance that it isn't actually hooked up to Malfoy Manor at all." Harry told them.

"Yes, but I think the first person to go through should be wearing the cloak." Ron said.

"Agreed." Harry confirmed. "And it'll be me." He didn't' have to look back over his shoulder to know Ron and Hermione were exchanging a look.

"Found it!" Hermione held up a bag of Floo Powder that had been hidden behind a book.

"Yes!" Ron stood up from behind the desk.

Harry delved his hand into the pouch with out a thought and tossed it in the fire and stepped under the cloak and into the green flames. "Malfoy Manor." He said loudly and clearly.

But nothing happened.

He stepped out and took off the cloak. "He's not hooked up." He stared at the fireplace as the orange flames flickered back. The three of them stared at it disbelief. They'd all been so sure, and their adrenaline tapered from the shock of it not working.

"Potions office!" Ron said.

"But, he isn't there anymore." Hermione pointed out.

"I know, but maybe he didn't disable it. He's had to get there and back some how." Ron explained.

"And Slughorn doesn't use Snape's old office." Harry remembered.

"We don't have any other ideas." Ron stated. "Let's go."

"Hold on." Harry checked the map again. No one was going in or out of the Room. That was a good sign, and the Potions room and attached office were empty. "Okay, let's go."

They took the Floo powder with them and ran down to the dungeons. They rushed through he classroom to the side office and Harry threw another handful of powder in the fireplace and the cloak on, trying this one more time. His lungs were burning from the exercise.

"Malfoy Manor."

This time he was sucked up through the tube and spat out in a lavish entry way. He stepped forward with his wand at the ready. There wasn't any Death Eaters there to greet them, but a House Elf popped up in front of him after a second and looked around confused.

The flames bust to life behind him and the Elf raised a hand as though to snap its fingers.

"Wait." Harry said and pulled his cloak off. "My name is Harry Potter. I was the one that freed Dobby." He told the Elf quietly hoping that would be enough to put the Elf on their side.

The Elf's eyes went wide, it's lips drew thin and he or she hopped from one foot to the next. The flames burst again behind him.

"We're here to finish him off. Please, please don't give us away." Harry pleaded desperately.

The Elf pulled on its ears in uncertainty and it looked like it was nodding.

"Thank you!" Hermione beamed down and hugged the Elf.

"Yes. Thank you. Can you tell me where the snake is? Nagini?"

The Elf's ears twitched. "There is being more arrivals. You's must go now." The Elf pointed up the marble staircase. "Three doors down on the right." The Elf told them and they rushed up the stairs, carefully looking down the hallway before rounding the corner.

It was dead quiet in the hall and as they passed the second door on the left they heard some movements inside it. "Oh. Almost forgot." They heard a smooth and calm voice say, followed by the sound of something hitting something else. They paused listening for a second for footsteps, but heard the sound of something falling down, and kept rushing to the door the Elf told them to go to.

Harry tested the knob carefully and the door pushed inward just as they heard another door open and the three of the rushed into the room, wands drawn.

Ron closed the door gently behind him. They were in a large study. There were book shelves on two walls and a few arm chairs and a chaise long in front of a large fireplace with large windows on either side.

"Where's the snake?" Ron asked.

While the room was large, so was Nagini. They should have been able to see it right away.

"Hungry." Harry heard a hiss above them.

He instinctively grabbed Ron and Hermione by their shirts and yanked them forward before the snake, which had most of it's body held up alongside the door frame, fell down over where they'd been standing.

Harry pulled out the vial from his pocket.

"Wait for the right moment!" Ron told him. "There isn't much left, you cant afford to miss."

The snake slithered towards them and they backed up towards the fireplace.

"Stop." Harry said to it in Parseltongue.

"So hungry." The snake said and continued to stalk them. Harry wasn't its master, it wouldn't listed to him. He looked around for some sort of escape, or a way to subdue the reptile.

Ron knocked over one of the arm chairs in the snakes path and the snake snapped at him. Hermione made a loud squeak. Maybe to call its attention, maybe because she was terrified beyond control. They wound up backed against the mantle and the snake reared up and opened its mouth wide.

Harry didn't think. The thrust himself forward, arm out, and shoved it in the snakes mouth, pouring the venom down the snakes throat and quickly pulling his arm back with-out the vial either.

Nagini reared back farther, and its body thrashed around wildly. The three of them ran around the perimeter of the room to get as far away from the dying snake as possible. The snake seemed to be withering in on itself, getting slowly more and more narrow.

It fell to lay completely on the ground twitching and then its mouth opened and plume of black smoke came out.

"We did it." Ron was the first to say. "That was the last Horcrux! We did it!"

"Celebrate later." Harry said calmly. "We still have Voldemort to deal with."

"And the Order needs to know that we got the snake." Hermione told him.

A blood curdling scream in the distance called all of their attentions.

"Come on." Harry ran to the door. The other two followed him out as they ran down the hall and down the stairs, pausing at the bottom by the fireplace they'd arrived at. "Which way do you think?" he turned to the other two.

Another scream sounded and they ran towards a set of double doors at the back side of the staircase and burst through it.

()()()()()()()

When she opened her eyes it was to find herself in a vaguely familiar room. Her brow furrowed. This room was so lush and elegant. It didn't look like anywhere at Hogwarts. She was laying on a very comfortable queen sized four poster bed.

How did she get into this bed? She was confused. What the hell happened? Ginny looked down at her body. She was still wearing her Quidditch uniform. The last thing she remembered was heading to the change rooms for a quick shower before the was going to join the rest of Gryffindor to celebrate their win.

She tried to move herself to sit up, but couldn't move her hands or feet apart. Panic was starting to set in.

Fruitlessly she struggled against the binding spell. Her wand. Where was her wand? Her arms were bound behind her. She'd always kept her wand tucked against her lower back, but it wasn't there.

Ginny wiggled and used her shoulder to leverage herself into a seated position and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

'Okay. Okay. Panicking isn't going to help.' She thought as her heart raced and her legs felt like she'd just run 5km after downing dark coffee and chocolate. She was shivering, bit it wasn't cold in the room. Trying to get to her feet to make it to the window her knees gave out and she fell to the floor. She let out an inaudible cry of surprise.

She sat back on her heels and tried making a noise with her mouth. Nothing came out. She was bound and gagged and in a somewhat familiar undisclosed location.

She shimmied a bit and tried to rub her chin against her collar bone to see if she still had her necklace. The familiar weight was there, and as her chin caught the chain she felt her pendants move between her breasts. At least there was still that, she let out slow breaths.

It was still daylight out, and the windows were about fifteen feet away. Her options of getting to the window were to somehow wiggle on her knees, or lay down and roll her way there. Rolling would be the best option.

She stretched out on the hardwood floor on her stomach and hefted herself over, wincing as her bony hip put pressure on the surface. She got onto her back and it really hurt having her wrists bound and trapped between the floor and her bum.

She made it to the window after seven full flips and landed on her stomach. She lifted her hips up and putting her weight on her shoulders and chin, tiptoeing her knees under her to straighten herself up.

She looked out the window and saw a vast manicured lawn. There were a few flower bushes and what looked to be the outline of a Quidditch Pitch. She didn't see anyone out there. She looked to the sky to try to figure out what the time might be. It was too overcast to make out the position of the sun.

Her brow furrowed and chin warbled. Damn it! A few tears rolled down her cheek. She felt so powerless. What the hell was she doing there? She must have been kidnapped.

From the state of the room and the grounds, there was only one logical assumption. She was at Malfoy Manor. That was why the room looked slightly familiar. It wasn't the same one she'd been in back before her fourth year, but the furniture and the style was all the same as what she remembered from her brief conscious moments from two years ago.

But why had they kidnapped her?

She sank down with her back against the wall under the window and let herself give in to the terror. It was probably a good thing that she was gagged. Her sobs would have been heard for sure. Her stomach was clenching, there was a steady stream of tears and snot letting gravity dictate the path down her face and she was completely powerless.

She brought her knees up in front of her and wiped away the tears and snot on her trousers and sat back, trying to calm herself down.

'Okay. Think Ginny. Quidditch. Change rooms. Did I make it to the change rooms?' She tried to remember. 'You waved goodbye to Harry and Ron and the rest of the team, then. Opened the door to the change rooms. You went back to the bench an the door slammed shut and then… nothing. Then you woke up in a bed.'

The game had finished around noon.

For a minute, she just focused on her breathing. Inhale. Exhale. She wouldn't be alone in this room forever. She should use this time. For something.

What the fuck could she use this time for? Devise a plan of escape?

This place was undoubtedly full of Death Eaters and Voldemort. And his snake.

Okay, so maybe when someone comes into the room they'd unbind her. So maybe there was something sharp around that she could get her hands on?

She looked around.

There were a few books. Paintings. Ostentatious busts. A vase.

The vase she could break. It was on a circular pedestal table by the other window, five feet away. The crash might call attention to her. It is either do that, or sit here not knowing what's going on.

Fuck it.

She wiggled across the floor on her bum and knocked the table with her feet, knocking that vase over. The thing bounced.

Fucking unbreakable charm! Fuck!

The vase had made a loud thunking noise though. The door to the room opened.

She braced herself, half expecting to be hit with a hex or a curse right away. But nothing came except for a chuckle. She looked over to the door and saw Blaise Zabini.

Blaise Zabini?!

"Hello gorgeous. You look a little surprised to see me." He stepped further into the room and shut the door behind him.

She swallowed hard and scrambled back so she was against the wall again. As though the two feet of added distance would make all the difference.

Blaise looked all around the room. "I must say, I had rather expected you to wreak more havoc than knocking over a vase." He went over to the window she'd first managed to look out of. "Couldn't bust this open with your shoulder? I imagine your idiot brother would do that and fall down forgetting that he was still bound. Looks like you're a little smarter than that."

He looked down at her, and she up at him. "Awe. Have you been crying?" He pulled a sympathetic face and knelt down to observe her closer. She sat stock still and widened her eyes. He had a wand and was bigger and stronger than her. If he tried to hurt her, or force himself on her, she wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Your eyes get quite a lovely chestnut colour to them when you cry." He reached out and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. She flinched at his touch. He laughed. "Oh please. You didn't think I'd try something. Did you?" He looked her over skeptically. "I never actually wanted you. Blood traitors hold no interest for me. And freckles." He made a show of shivering.

Ginny just looked at him, her brow together in confusion. He was a good actor. Had he been a Death Eater spy all year? She relaxed ever so slightly with the knowledge that he wasn't interested in taking advantage of the situation like that. But what did he know that caused him to kidnap her and bring her there? Was he a legitimence? Did he know about the Horcruxes?

They heard a pop outside and both turned to the window. There was another pop Blaise stood up and looked out and smirked. He pointed his wand at her feet and removed the bind on them.

She immediately separated her legs and rolled her ankles in relief. She was still gagged and her hands were still stuck together at the wrists.

"It's show time." He smiled maliciously and hefted her to her feet. "Oh. Almost forgot." He said pleasantly.

With no time for her to react he pulled his arm back and punched her hard in the face. She stumbled and knocked over the table. If he hadn't had a grip on her arm still she would have fallen down. She saw black spots and she couldn't breath for a moment. She heaved gasps as the pain he'd caused registered in her brain. He'd hit her high on the cheek.

He shook out his hand. "Ah, that feels so much better."

She was stunned and regained her balance. He actually looked calmer than he had before. He got off on physical violence? Had he really just hit her to make himself feel better?

"Now come on. Can't keep them waiting" She stumbled as he pulled her towards the door. "You'll have to keep up, or I will put you under the Imperious. Then who knows what I could make you do or say." He grinned at the idea.

She swallowed hard and fought back her tears. A few escaped as she kept up with him down the hallway. He led her down a marble staircase and down another hallway. There was a chubby balding man in Death Eaters robes smiling wickedly at her with crooked teeth as they approached.

"Ah. Ginny."

She narrowed her eyes at him. She didn't know this man, why was he staring at her like he knew her? Now she was creeped out on top of being terrified.

He turned to Blaise. "Wait here." He ducked his head inside the door behind him a moment, then pulled back and waved Blaise to bring her forward.

Ginny was shaking again. Her heart was in her throat and stopped every time her foot touched down carrying her forward.

The room they walked into was a ballroom. She blinked at the brightness of the room as compared to the dark hallway, and her eyes fell on the people in the room.

Lucius Malfoy was the first person she saw. He didn't meet her eye. He was looking at her, but more at her chin. Bellatrix Lestrange was beside him. She looked startled to see Ginny there. As did Snape beside her, the only indication of such being the slight widening of his eyes.

Beside Snape was Draco. She locked eyes with him and bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to try and stop herself from reacting. She saw him tremble slightly and his fingers tighten around his wand.

"Here we are." Said a commentating voice to her left. She looked over and her knees almost gave out on her again.

Voldemort. He was ashen in colour and red eyed with slits for a nose. He looked terrifying. Nothing like the Tom Riddle she remembered.

"Your final test Draco." Voldemort moved over to her and waved Blaise to join the others. Ginny was frozen as he moved closer. It was like his skin was translucent. "Let's see if you can kill your beloved Blood Traitor." His lipless mouth curved into a smile at her before he turned to Draco.

It was two blinks before she actually heard what he'd said, then her jaw dropped open. She was there because they thought Draco loved her? For an incredulous moment she just looked wild eyed back and forth between Draco and Voldemort.

She wasn't there simply because she was a Weasley, or because she was Harry Potter's girlfriend, or because she'd destroyed his Horcruxes. She was there as a final test of loyalty for Draco because they thought he was in love with her? She looked to Snape, then to the senior Malfoy. They were surprised too. They hadn't said anything. She looked over at Blaise. He looked smug.

Something inside her snapped and she started laughing. Crying and laughing. Silently.

That was why he'd hit on her all those months ago. He was double checking. Well, he was correct about who she had been being discrete with at the time.

Ginny fell to her knees in hysterics this time.

Voldemort gave her a puzzled look to the back of her head as she was bent down on the floor, then to Draco that was looking at her like she was insane.

"Did you just call her my beloved?" Draco asked him.

Blaise stood up straight, not able to admit that he might have misjudged. Voldemort looked at him and held up his wand. "I know they were together! He's been keeping her on the side while he's been with Astoria Greengrass. They were in a classroom along together last weekend."

"She wasn't meeting me in that classroom. I had packed up and left that room because she'd started occupying it."

"You can't tell me you two never were together. I've seen you both staring at each other."

"Together? Like, in a relationship?" Draco looked disgusted. "I may have hooked up with her once, but she is not my beloved."

One of the Death Eaters in back of him sucked in a breath.

"Enough." Voldemort waved his wand at Blaise and he crumpled to the ground as a red stunning hex hit him in the chest. He waved his wand at Ginny and her body rose up so she was standing straight. "Any last words?" He asked as he removed the gag.

Was she supposed to say something profound, and eloquent? That wasn't really her style. Ginny just narrowed her eyes at him in anger. "You got really fucking ugly Tom Riddle." His calm face turned livid and he back handed her across the face and cast the Cruciatus curse.

Pain wracked through her body and she screamed out as a million razor blades cut along her skin and insides while the most intense headache made her skull want to rip open to relieve the pressure. She lay at his feet as it stopped.

"How dare you call me that name." He screamed at her.

Her head was turned towards his congregation. She was fighting to keep her eyes open. Draco's mask was slipping, but his wasn't the only one. Dolohov, Bellatrix and her husband, and several other Death Eaters she didn't know were doing a piss poor job of trying not to look terrified for her.

Voldemort grabbed her by her hair and dragged her up to her knees. "How do you know that name?" He demanded.

She spat the blood out of her mouth at him. "Read it in your diary. Before I destroyed it."

"That is not possible!" He cried in outrage and shoved her forward, casting another Crucio on her.

This one didn't last as long as the others. She lay on her stomach with her eyes closed and heard a muffled distant shout before she blacked out.


	27. Chapter 27

**Someone reviewed with a few critiques, and I'm going to address them.**

 **The side apparation thing. I know you aren't supposed to be able to Side-Along 6-9 people, but Hermione took along two people and a third by accident in the Deathly Hallows, and they didn't know where they were going. My 6-9 people needed Snape and Draco to take them in order to get through the wards only. So I made an exception, I also don't see it anywhere that there is a cap on the number of people you can Apparate, and I couldn't have Snape and Draco going back and forth a dozen times.**

 **Harry, Ron and Hermione really do go looking for trouble, so I don't see it as them being there 'just because'. Harry saw the Order going into action on the map, and he did what the Golden Trio does. I still think there was no need for them to get involved with Quirrell. Ginny's POV on that at the beginning of the story was mine too. (But we all bow down to J.K. Rowling for the magnificent world she's created. Love her.)**

 **And Ginny coming clean about how far she went with Draco was more for Ginny's benefit than for Harry's. I'm sure my husband wouldn't like me to tell him what I got up to with the men in my life before he came into the picture, but I did ask him about his past relationships. Guess it's a girl thing. The older you get, the more you just assume your partner has experience, but at fifteen/sixteen and going back to her boyfriend it's a horse of a different colour.**

 **One thing no one mentioned that I forgot to explain before is that while no one could use Polyjuice to become Greyback, Lupin could still use it because Greyback was partially transformed even when it wasn't the full moon, while Remus Lupin was not.**

 _"Any last words?" Voldemort asked as he removed the gag._

 _Was she supposed to say something profound, and eloquent? That wasn't really her style. Ginny just narrowed her eyes at him in anger. "You got really fucking ugly Tom Riddle." His calm face turned livid and he back handed her across the face and cast the Cruciatus curse._

 _Pain wracked through her body and she screamed out as a million razor blades cut along her skin and insides while the most intense headache made her skull want to rip open to relieve the pressure. She lay at his feet as it stopped._

 _"How dare you call me that name." He screamed at her._

 _Her head was turned towards his congregation. She was fighting to keep her eyes open. Draco's mask was slipping, but his wasn't the only one. Dolohov, Bellatrix and her husband, and several other Death Eaters she didn't know were doing a piss poor job of trying not to look terrified for her._

 _Voldemort grabbed her by her hair and dragged her up to her knees. "How do you know that name?" He demanded._

 _She spat the blood out of her mouth at him. "Read it in your diary. Before I destroyed it."_

 _"That is not possible!" He cried in outrage and shoved her forward, casting another Crucio on her._

 _This one didn't last as long as the others. She lay on her stomach with her eyes closed and heard a muffled distant shout before she blacked out._

 **Chapter 27**

Severus Snape had stood beside Lucius and Bellatrix/Tonks horrified as Ginevra Weasley was being tortured in Voldemorts anger. He wasn't seeing young miss Weasley bite back at the Dark Lord in her verbal defiance as her choice of last words. He saw his beloved Lily standing up for what she believed in, love and family.

He saw Lily being tortured and remembered holding her lifeless body after Voldemort had killed her. Ginny's first screams rang out and sliced him straight to his core. He closed his eyes to block out the image of her thrashing on the ground and arching her back to the pain.

Bellatrix took a step forward and he felt it. He grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her back. He opened his eyes once she stopped screaming and watched carefully to see she was still breathing.

Pettigrew stepped into the room to watch the show. As Voldemort cast the next Cruciatus Curse on her, Severus discretely moved his wand to point at Pettigrew.

Pettigrew was the reason Lily was dead, and he was going to get revenge for that before the day was done.

It would be too easy to simply use the unforgivable killing cures. Pettigrew needed to suffer for what he'd done. For twelve years he'd lived a pampered and lazy life, not holding any accountability. At best the rat would have considered the thirteen years hiatus of Voldemort's downfall to be his gift to wizard kind.

Severus would wait for his moment to come. He envisioned Pettigrew covered in his own blood from the cutting curse, and pale from the shock brought on by the several blasting curses that would pulverize his bones starting from his toes.

It would be a most awful way to die.

()()()

Fred and George had always been told they were two halves of a whole. It was true, more than most realized.

They didn't have any kind of telepathy between each other, but they just knew. Call it some kind of empathic link. They talked non-stop around others and made a hell of a lot of noise with their experiments, but when it was just the two of them at their shared flat, they could be completely silent.

One of them would think something and the other would immediately know what they were thinking and respond with a simple facial expression.

When they joined the Order, they knew it would be dangerous, and had many a silent discussion that always ended with the same shared though; It was worth it.

They joked and laughed with the others, but still felt the underlying fear and worry. They worried for all of their friends and family. They knew that their older siblings and their parents were most worried about Ron because of his involvement and association with Harry. But not them.

They had always favored their sister. She was devious, secretive and brilliant. Her being put in Ravenclaw hadn't been a surprise. The only surprise that could have happened on the day of her sorting (to do with her anyways) would have been if she was made a Hufflepuff.

When she went off to Ilvermory they were confused. How had she managed to pull it off? There was no scholarship, they knew that much. They never confronted her about it, or said anything to anyone, and for over those three years they theorized. When she stumbled through the Floo into Order Headquarters that Christmas they were proud beyond belief and flat out astounded when they found out about her being the mastermind behind the nail polish. Seeing her snogging Harry Potter had been a surprise, but their little Ginny was full of surprises.

She was by far who they loved the most. Their dear, darling sister. They almost had a heart attack after she gave them the paintball guns and told them her plan for them. She was much more involved with this war than she was letting on.

They had noticed a lot about her over the years, like how she was quick to smile and always so relaxed on the outside, but when no one was looking, or she was zoned out she would finger the necklace they gave her. Their charmed pendant was not on the chain, but every year or so she would add another pendant to it, and she would get a worried wrinkle to her brow. She was as guarded about her inner monologue as they were, with out someone to share it with.

They'd read between the lines when Sirius and Dumbledore had shared a private chuckle over the involvement of the Weasley family. Their precious and clever sister had done something.

Their shared heart had completely stopped when they saw her being marched into the Banquet hall to be used as a devotional sacrifice for Draco Malfoy.

Blood on her lip and a bruise already changing colour under her eye. Blaise Zabini was the source of the apparent mis-information that brought her there. Unconscious or not, he was going to die by their hands for what he'd done.

They each needed the other to keep themselves rooted in place so they didn't rush to her aid and immediately take her to safety. When she told Voldemort he had gotten 'fucking ugly' they didn't internally pump a fist in the air in celebration of her bravery, they sucked in a breath knowing she would be horribly punished for not only that, but using his birthname.

They felt each others internal struggle to not protect her, or cry. To just stand there watching her scream. They turned to each other, Selwyn's brown eyes looked to Mulcibers blue and they planned their attack.

Voldemort was still untouchable, but all of the Polyjuiced Order members were at the forefront of the room closest to the Dark Lord, which meant they need only spin on their heels and lay a reign of fire at the Death Eaters behind them. The twins put their hands in their pockets to clutch the trigger on their favourite new 'toys'.

As soon as the correct moment came, they'd fire off the guns until they were empty and break away to where that Slytherin bastard was slumped against the wall and physically break every one of his fingers.

()()()

She was an unforeseen complication. Lucius had no idea when he'd slipped her the Diary that she would wind up being so involved. He had no idea of the relationship between his son and her either. He did know that this woman that stood beside him looking like his crazy sister-in-law was not the true Bellatrix. She was an excellent actress though.

Draco's denial of affiliation to the Weasley girl was feeble, but he was understandably terrified. Lucius himself was terrified, he was simply more skilled with controlling his expression.

Lucius had known that there was a spy, a junior Death Eater at Hogwarts for whom he'd been tasked with getting a portkey to the Manor. That was the culmination of his knowledge on it however. He had assumed it had been for Theodore Nott to bring Harry Potter. Wrong on both accounts.

Now Harry Potter may be one of the clearly Polyjuiced Death Eaters that had come back to the Manor. The fact that the Dark Lord did not see through their disguises was yet another show of how he was delusionally vainglorious.

Lucius looked at his son's face as the Cruciatus Curse was cast on the girl. Whatever the relationship was between the two, his son did care for her. He was stricken and lurched forward slightly as her screams bounced off the walls.

It wasn't a very drawn out curse. He'd witnessed several others tortured this way. The Dark Lord was not toying with her, he must have thought his test for Draco more important than getting revenge for her insult. There was something odd about the wand he was using as well. Supposedly it had been Dumbledores.

There was absolutely no way Draco had actually killed Dumbledore. But what was the plan here? Watch as Ginevra was tortured and then attack? He was quite surprised they had let it happen at all.

The slight movement from Severus to point his wand at Peter Pettigrew told him that they would all be making their move shortly. If he wanted to try to avoid Azkaban for a second time then there was really only one thing he could do.

Lucius clutched his wand and counted the number of steps he would have to take to get a clear shot to the back of the Dark Lord.

()()()()

Silence thundered in everyone's ears as Harry, Ron and Hermione burst into the ballroom.

Ron and Hermione took in the number of Death Eaters, but Harry's eyes passed right over all of them and settled on Voldemort. He heard Hermione throw up a shield around the three of them and that snapped everyone into action.

Curses started flying in all direction, arks of green , red and white crossed the room in every which direction and a continuous popping noise. Death Eater turned on Death Eater and Harry never took his eyes off of Voldemort.

The Elder wand was twitching in his hand, pointed to the body on the floor. The shock of long Weasley red hair made his heart stop. Harry pulled up his own shield and bolted towards her. How had she gotten there? She was supposed to be safe at Hogwarts!

As he ran and ducked around all the black robed people in the room he fooled himself into thinking it wasn't her. It had to have been someone polyjuiced, like half of the Death Eaters in the room surely were. For all the people fighting each other, none were aiming at Voldemort himself. One by one the bodies dropped to the floor stunned or worse.

Harry came to his knees and slid to where Ginny lay, pointing his wand up at Voldemort while he checked for a pulse.

"Ah." Voldemort smiled. "It seems Zabini may have been wrong about who the girl was the beloved of, but how fortuitous that she actually be yours."

'Zabini?' Harry thought. 'Why wasn't anyone attacking him?!' Harry glared at Voldemort. He didn't need to hear any more from this bastard. He thought he held a great many secrets from everyone that he was indestructible, but he was just a mortal villain now, and neither he nor anyone else needed to hear an evil diatribe from him.

"Reducto." Harry threw at him.

Voldemort deflected the spell. "You think you can take me down yourself Potter? You are in a room full of my loyal Death Eaters." He said clearly not having a full understanding of what was going on in the room right then. He was too focused on Harry.

"That's what you think." Draco said after he'd fought to get to the other side of Ginny, aiming his wand at Voldemort. "Diffindo" he shouted. Voldemort's eyes grew wide in surprise, but was still quick enough to block Draco's curse as well and pulled up a strong shield around himself. That started everyone who wasn't engaged in a battle to round on Voldemort and hit him with their own curses.

Harry pulled Ginny to him to try and protect her body from any stray hits as they flew from behind them. Draco, on instinct, did the same and felt her hand come over his, the one holding his wand.

"Protego." She shouted as a jet of green light shot in their direction and the three of them were covered in a plume of dust that wafted over them in a dome as the spell blasted the ground in front of where the shield came up.

The whole room was covered in dust from the plaster damage from deflected spells. It was hard to tell who was on the other side of the room.

A wave of air went through the room from the far side to the windows causing all of the airborne dust to be removed.

"Avada Kedavra" Came from the mouth of Lucius Malfoy who stood to the right behind Voldemort, inside of the shield the man had created for himself. The Dark Lord hadn't seen it coming. He fell to the ground immediately.

"Damn it Malfoy! We weren't ready for that!" Tonks/Bellatrix pointed her wand at him angrily. "Now he's-"

"Dead." Hermione called out, cutting her off. "We got the snake. He's dead."

"She's right. He would have dematerialized if he still had a Horcrux." The voice of Bill Weasley came out of Corbin Yaxley's mouth.

Dolohov stepped forward to him. Harry looked up from where his head was bowed down to cover Ginny's and see for himself that the man who'd been responsible for his entire life's misery was truly done for. Dolohov pulled a knife from his pocket and elongated it before he brought it down on Voldemorts neck, cutting his head clean off.

Dolohov looked up at Lucius Malfoy, who still had his wand trained on the body as well. "You'll have to remove some of these wards Malfoy. We've got some work to clean up here." It was the gruff, gravelly voice of Mad Eye Moody that said it. Lucius Malfoy inclined his head and lowered his wand. "Sound off." Moody barked.

"Tonks." Said Bellatrix.

"Weasley." Said Fred's voice from the man standing over Zabini's body.

"Weasley." Came George, who was on the other side of Zabini.

"Lupin."

"Black, the Sirius kind."

"Weasley."

"Dumbledore."

"Shacklebot."

"Snape."

"Diggle."

"Jones."

"Jordan."

"Two more Weasleys." Came the voice of Molly Weasley as she in Amycus' body clutched the hand of Alecto.

"Vance."

"Podmore."

"Weasley." Ron said proudly.

"Granger." Hermione beamed, caught up in the adrenaline.

There was one Death Eater still standing that hadn't called out, besides the Malfoy's, and everyone turned their wands to them. The man simply whimpered and the one who'd called out 'Jordan' petrified them and took their wand.

()()()()

Ginny was only vaguely aware of the number of the number of hands on her. One was stroking her hair, maybe that was one behind her back. One on her leg above the knee and one on her shoulder. Another touched her cheek. The back of her head, then another pair joined clutching at her feet. Why were so many people touching her? It was creepy.

What happened? Why couldn't she open her eyes? Everything was so fuzzy and mumbled. There was a shock of pain that went up her right leg through her torso to her head and she lurched back at the momentary pain, but she didn't cry out. Then she relaxed and just wanted to drift back off to sleep.

"Ginny!" Came the shout in her ear.

That sounded like Draco. She brought her hand up and pushed his face away from her ear. Who wants to be woken up like that? "Bugger off. I'm sleeping." She managed and cuddled into whatever she was leaning against and buried her face into the fabric.

She heard some watery chuckles. Some of the hands moved off of her, but the one behind her back and stroking her hair were still there.

"Maybe we should take her Harry." That was her mum. But her voice sounded funny.

"Um. Maybe I should. You know… Until you're both, you again." Came Harry's deep voice in response. The sound vibrated against her head. She must be resting her head on Harry's chest.

"Ah. Yes." That was her dad. But he sounded funny too.

She managed to crack her eyelids open, and most of what she could see was Harry's Quidditch jersey. "What?"

"You're going to be okay sweetheart." Her mum said close by. "Take it easy. You've been under the Cruciatus Curse, and that was a very powerful shield you called up. You are going to be sluggish for a bit."

Sluggish wasn't quite a strong enough word for it. She was shaky and disoriented. Ginny blinked a few times and tried to focus her eyes on the Gryffindor emblem on Harry's shirt. His hand traced down her cheek and she tilted her head up to see his emerald eyes staring intensely into hers. She smiled at him lazily, but was confused about the concern in his brows.

Then her mum's words sunk in.

Cruciatus Curse.

Twice.

Sheild.

And it all came back to her. Malfoy Manor. Bound and gagged. Voldemort. Draco's test.

Blaise fucking Zabini.

"What the hell's wrong with freckles?" She asked angrily. She was looking at Harry, but the question wasn't for him. He gaped at her, not sure what she was talking about. "Where is he? That bloody ass hat!" She picked up the volume and tried to get up, only to roll out of Harry's arms.

"Whoa. You shouldn't be moving this much." Draco caught her.

He and Harry each grabbed one of her arms lifting her up to her feet. She got really dizzy, thank Merlin these two had such a good hold of her.

"Darling, everything is going to be okay now." Her mums voice said. But it wasn't her mum. It was a Death Eater.

Ginny's eye's widened and she tried to take a step back from her.

"It's alright. We're under Polyjuice. There are no actual Death Eaters conscious in here." Her dad's voice said from the mouth of another Death Eater.

She turned her head to look at him bleary eyed and gave a single chuckle before she felt another twinge and winced.

"Maybe we should sit her down again." Harry said and conjured a few chairs.

"Everyone else is okay?" She looked around the room to see several bodies laying side by side against the back wall and a blanket over a body where Voldemort had stood.

"A few scratches on our side, but he's truly dead now." Harry assured her.

"Yeah. And Moody cut his head off to make extra sure." Fred and George had come over looking like Death Eaters as well. "We took good care of that Zabini prick for you."

One of them was tearing up. "He won't be able to walk for quite some time."

"Or use his fingers."

"Not that he'll need to in Azkaban."

Ginny had trouble finding that humorous when it was coming from the mouths of enemies. "How long was I out for?" She turned to Harry, needing to look at someone familiar and comforting.

"Maybe five minutes." He said desperately. He looked like he was restraining himself from pulling her out of her chair and into his lap.

Ginny's eyes softened at that. She was sure she would have been just as desperate to touch and hold him if something had happened to him too. She put a hand on the seat of his chair, heavily and clumsily moving to sit in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Better?" She asked him quietly, leaning her forehead against his.

He sighed and relaxed. "Yes." He kissed her lips lightly and hugged her close.

"So, you two are together?" Came Bill's voice. Ginny pulled away from Harry and winced as she was called to look upon Yaxley's face. "Then what was he going on about with you and him?" He thumbed at Draco.

Ginny twisted around and met Draco's eye. The true answer would be best not divulged to her family.

"We're friends." She answered. "ish."

He narrowed his eyes at her, but his lip twitched up.

She wrinkled her nose at him and smirked. "I've been helping him find his way to our side since I got back to Hogwarts." She said tiredly.

"Since you showed up at Hogwarts two Christmas' ago actually." He corrected quietly.

"What?" The twins said. Their red hair was starting to come through. That was a relief. Looking into all of these strange faces was really unnerving for her.

A phantom pain went through her leg and it kicked out. Harry hugged her tighter.

"Maybe it would be best to talk about this somewhere else?" Hermione's voice came from behind Ginny and Harry's chair. Ginny hadn't heard her or Ron approach. They, thankfully, weren't Polyjuiced.

Ron came forward and gave Ginny an awkward hug. Awkward because of the angle, and because Ron wasn't the most affectionate of her brothers. "We should have waited for you." His voice full of regret and emotion.

"It wasn't your fault Ron." She assured him.

"You could have died." He sniffed and moved back a step to stand beside Hermione. She clutched his hand tight, she was looking very emotional as well.

"No one knew." Ginny shrugged. Harry was running his hand up and down her back comfortingly, and she didn't want to move her arm from around his shoulders. Climbing into a soft warm bed to snuggle against him and sleep for two days sounded like a marvelous idea.

"Damn right no one knew." Draco bit.

It appeared everyone's Polyjuice potion was wearing off, it was a disturbing sight. She looked at Harry to avoid watching it.

"I have never been so scared." He whispered. "Finding out that it was your screams we'd heard. And seeing you there on the floor." She heard his heart in his voice. He really did love her.

She recalled feeling him fall to his knees beside her, trying to block her from any further pain, and how that little conscious part of her that was left at that point had wanted him to run the other way and save himself. Because she loved him too.

The doors to the Banquet hall burst open and everyone turned to it with their wands drawn. Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Mad-Eye Moody and several other Auror's came in.

"Wards are down. Good job team. A successful mission." He barked. "Now, any non Auror's need to clear out."

"What? We just go back to school?" Ron asked, as if the idea was absurd.

"Well, I could use a drink, and Gryffindor is having a party." Ginny tried to joke.

"Absolutely not." Her mum ordered. "You have questions that you need to answer young lady, and you'll not be going back to school until they're answered. You too." She pointed to Ron. Her mothers face was drawn into strict lines and she grabbed Ginny by the arm and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." She cried, switching gears.

"Love you too mum. Maybe not so tight." Ginny gasped.

She was passed around giving hugs to all her family and Hermione then. Ginny was grateful to see that hey weren't hurt. The element of surprise really had given them the upper hand.

"Right." Her mum sniffed and brought herself to full commanding height. "We're going to Grimmauld Place so we can discuss this properly." She eyed not only the young Gryffindor's, but Draco too.

"You expect me to go too?" He asked astounded.

Ginny was between the twins, who seemed unwilling to let her go. "Yeah, mum. He probably should stay here, with his family." Ginny said uncertain, knowing how uncomfortable that would be.

"Nonsense. His mother was sent off to their holiday property." From Draco's expression, that was news to him. "And his father is being taken to the Ministry for questioning, which will take a while. You said he was your friend. So I'll not have him staying in this big house over run with Auror by himself, or back to Slytherin until the Auror's are done there either." Ginny looked around, and sure enough, Lucius Malfoy was no where to be seen.

The five students gaped at her and each other. They really weren't being given a choice. No one said no to a stern mother of seven, she had over two decades worth of scolding experience.

()()()()

Sirius, Harry, Hermione, Draco and all of the Weasley's found themselves in the sitting room at Order Headquarters scattered about on sofa's, armchairs, and on the floor. Harry and Ginny took up the spot on the hearth beside each other, leaning back against the brickwork.

They all clutched hot cups of tea or cocoa and sipped. Ginny kept splashing herself and cursing. The after effects of the curse would take a few hours to a few days to go away completely. Harry took a sip out of Ginny's cup so it wasn't brimming anymore. She thanked him with a grateful smile and snuggled closer into his side.

They all sat in silence a while thinking over what happened.

Voldemort was dead and now all of the key Death Eaters were captured as well.

Ginny shivered and took another sip of her cocoa, but got a mouth full of fire whiskey instead and coughed it down. "Sorry!" She managed, trying to pass it off as nothing. Sirius winked at her, so did the twins.

The fireplace came to life and Remus Lupin stepped out He took a quick survey of the quiet room and Sirius got up to lead him over to the liquor cabinet.

Another armchair was conjured and he filled them in on all that had gone on at the Ministry.

All the unconscious Death Eaters at Diagon Alley, the Room of Requirement and Malfoy Manor had their wands snapped and were imprisoned in separate cells awaiting trial. They had not yet awoken due to the thorough job the twins had done with their toys. There weren't going to be any shortened sentences.

Kingsley and Scrimgeour were going to be collaborating on the length of the sentencing and Snape was already working with Slughorn on a batch of Veritaserum.

Dumbledore stayed back at Hogwarts after the removal of the Death Eaters at the school, and had Auror's going through checking each of the students for either the Dark Mark or familial connections to Death Eaters that would need to be informed and questioned. What to do with the results of the questioning of the students was yet undecided.

"So now I think we'd all like to hear about the events that have led up to this point." Remus finished, looking between Draco and Harry.

Only Ron, Hermione and Sirius were not expecting answers to come from them. Harry and Draco saw the expectant faces of the others and looked at each other sharing a private and out of character laugh.

"Actually." Harry started.

"It was all Ginny!" Sirius burst out. "Clever little girl destroying him piece by piece." He grinned at her.

"What?" Bill told him incredulously. "No! You're mad!"

The fire whiskey she'd imbibed had made her all warm and cozy. She shifted back from where she'd been resting her head on Harry's shoulder and opened her mouth to start explaining, but started laughing instead.

Much like she had in front of them all before Voldemort had tortured her, she wasn't completely sure why that was her reaction. "Sorry!" She laugh cried. "It's just." She was trying to stop laughing, because it really wasn't funny. It hadn't been then either. "I'm just remember standing there dumbfounded. I was sure he'd found out about me and Harry, or it was because he knew the Weasleys were the biggest supporters of Dumbledore. Or, and the real reason he should have wanted me dead, because I'd destroyed six pieces of his soul. But to find out it was because they thought Draco was in love with me!" She could barely breath.

She blamed this one on her drink. Her cup was nearly empty now. Ginny turned to Harry. "Am I laughing or crying?"

He grinned reluctantly at that and wiped her cheeks with his cuffs. "A bit of both." He took her cup. "And I think you've had enough of this."

She let him take the cup. "Okay." She took a few deep breaths to try to clear her head.

"From the beginning please." Her dad requested.

"Okay." She looked to all those present that knew the story already, silently asking that they help her with it as well. "Five years ago, when we went to Florish and Blotts for our school shopping.-"

 **AN- I know, that happened really quick.**

 **Now, do I end the story there?**


End file.
